whiffler
1 Americannoun
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a person who frequently shifts opinions, attitudes, interests, etc.
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a person who is vacillating or evasive in an argument.
noun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of whiffler1
First recorded in 1600–10; whiffle + -er 1
Origin of whiffler2
First recorded in 1530–40; earlier wiffler “armed attendant,” equivalent to wiffle (variant of Middle English wifle, Old English wifel “battle-ax”) + -er 1. The spelling with wh probably arose by asociation with whiff 1 ( def. ).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In any show he will be one, though he be but a whiffler or a torch-bearer, and bears down strangers with the story of his actions.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
My wife and I had a great quarrel on this occasion; she pretended that he came only to give her some ribbons, as he had been a whiffler in the procession.
From The Affecting Case of the Unfortunate Thomas Daniels by Daniels, Thomas
Ay, ay; he's a whiffler, but a good man on a sea-elephant.
From The Sea Lions The Lost Sealers by Cooper, James Fenimore
And first as a whiffler before the show enter Stamford, one that trod the stage with the first, traversed the ground, made a leg and exit.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
Behold, the English beach Pales in the flood with men, with wives and boys, Whose shouts and claps out-voice the deep-mouth'd sea, Which like a mighty whiffler 'fore the King Seems to prepare his way.
From King Henry V by Shakespeare, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
