All 13 Uses of
trifle
in
A Prayer for Owen Meany
- Because he'd wished my mother dead, my father said, God had punished him; God had taught Pastor Merrill not to trifle with prayer.†
p. 554.7 *trifle with = treat thoughtlessly or without respect
- "GOOD," he said; he was very pleased about it, if a trifle nervous.†
p. 66.0
- Owen was quite accustomed to people feeling compelled to touch him, but in Hester's case he retreated a trifle anxiously from her touch—though not so much that she was offended.†
p. 76.3
- Mrs. Brinker-Smith, on the other hand, appeared a trifle tired.†
p. 157.6
- It did; it stuck out, especially when he was lying down; but then, Owen's eyes looked "rather grown-up," too, in that they bulged, or appeared a trifle haunted in their sockets.†
p. 173.6
- The audience rose to greet him The peak of his death-black hood was a trifle pointy, and too tall for Owen's small head; it had flopped over to one side, giving Owen a gnomish appearance and a slightly cocky, puckish attitude.†
p. 210.9
- With grace, with gentleness, Owen pushed her hand and the handkerchief aside; his smile forgave her everything, even her clumsiness, and the Blessed Virgin tottered a trifle on her knees, as if she were preparing to swoon.†
p. 219.9
- As a scholarship boy, he had a job—he was a waiter at a faculty table; the serving tray was half his size and he stood at attention beside it, as if it were a shield, while the students applauded him and the faculty smiled a trifle stiffly.†
p. 307.5
- There was an old janitor who worked the weekends and who knew us from the regular school-year; he got us the best basketballs and clean towels out of the stock room, and sometimes he even let us swim in the indoor pool—I think he was a trifle retarded.†
p. 331.2
- It was Larry Lish who told us that; he didn't like us, but Larry was a trifle ashamed that his mother was so intent on having Owen Meany thrown out of school.†
p. 383.5
- I suppose his back was still a trifle sore from his impressive effort with Dr. Dolder's Volkswagen; but the headmaster didn't pay any attention to his back, either.†
p. 420.4
- Once, in Winston Churchill Park, when there were children roughhousing—at least, moving quickly—I saw someone about his size, standing slightly to the side of whatever activity was consuming the others, looking a trifle tentative but very alert, certainly eager to try what the others were doing, but restraining himself, or else picking the exactly perfect moment to take charge.†
p. 471.9
- We had a modest going-away party for him at 80 Front Street; Hester and Grandmother were a trifle teary, but the overall tone of our celebration was jolly.†
p. 500.3 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(trifle as in: a trifling matter) something of small importance; or a small quantity
-
(2)
(trifle with as in: trifle with her affections) to treat somebody or something thoughtlessly or without respect
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, a trifle can refer to a kind of dessert. In classic literature, trifling can be a synonym for small talk.