peddling
[ped-ling]
- trifling; paltry; piddling.
Origin of peddling
peddle
[ped-l]
- to carry (small articles, goods, wares, etc.) from place to place for sale at retail; hawk.
- to deal out, distribute, or dispense, especially in small quantities: to peddle radical ideas.
- to sell (drugs) illicitly.
- to go from place to place with goods, wares, etc., for sale at retail.
- to occupy oneself with trifles; trifle.
Origin of peddle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for peddling
Contemporary Examples
By WWII, Lemkin had been peddling his ideas on genocide for more than a decade.
Former sport stars who joined the high-stakes game of peddling illegal substances are winners no more.
The show has been accused of peddling the kind of tawdry sentiment that has driven the inhabitants of Detroit to distraction.
Now, Larson is peddling his ancient wares with 21st-century technology: namely, Skype.
If, as officials suggest, Favaro has been peddling skulls from the Congo, it is unclear when he began the practice.
Historical Examples
To be sure, peddling in the good old days was most attractive.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
I believe I had as much right to exaggerate in peddling as I had in writing verse.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
I reminded him of his saying once, ‘Peddling is a healthy and profitable business.’
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
It looked like paltering and peddling, like sale and barter.
You forget that I am a peddling attorney myself, made so by your own wishes, monsieur.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
peddle
- to go from place to place selling (goods, esp small articles)
- (tr) to sell (illegal drugs, esp narcotics)
- (tr) to advocate (ideas) persistently or importunatelyto peddle a new philosophy
- (intr) archaic to trifle
Word Origin
C16: back formation from pedlar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for peddling
peddle
v.
"to retail," 1837 in modern use, a colloquial back-formation from peddler. Related: Peddled; peddling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper