piffle

American  

[pif-uhl] / ˈpɪf əl /

noun

1. nonsense, as trivial or senseless talk.

---

verb (used without object)

piffled, piffling

1. to talk nonsense.

piffle British  

/ ˈpɪfəl /

noun

1. nonsense

   to talk piffle

---

verb

1. (intr) to talk or behave feebly

Etymology

Origin of piffle

First recorded in 1840–50; perhaps akin to puff

Example Sentences

I defy you to tell me what this blithering piffle actually means.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

In retrospect, was Blinken’s vision of music as a vehicle of global transformation a blip and a piffle, a charmingly naïve indulgence?

From Slate • Dec. 28, 2023

For more than two hours, it pelts you with piffle so egregious — not just puns but also dad jokes, double entendres and booby-trapped one-liners — that, forced into submission, you eventually give in.

From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2023

Past administration GPRs, he added, “typically gush strategic-sounding piffle, exhausting readers with laborious defenses of the status quo. This one at least spared us that.”

From Washington Times • Nov. 30, 2021

We all felt that it was simply piffle to talk copy-book to one so disappointed as our unfortunate brother.

From New Treasure Seekers or, The Bastable Children in Search of a Fortune by Nesbit, E. (Edith)