Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
quibbling
present participle of quibble
quibbling (plural quibblings)
petty argument
• H. G. Wells
Suddenly he perceived that he was sure of God. Not perhaps of the God of Nicaea, but what did these poor little quibblings and definitions of the theologians matter?
Source: Wiktionary
Quib"ble, n. Etym: [Probably fr. quib, quip, but influenced by quillet, or quiddity.]
1. A shift or turn from the point in question; a trifling or evasive distinction; an evasion; a cavil. Quibbles have no place in the search after truth. I. Watts.
2. A pun; a low conceit.
Quib"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quibbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Quibbling.]
1. To evade the point in question by artifice, play upon words, caviling, or by raising any insignificant or impertinent question or point; to trifle in argument or discourse; to equivocate.
2. To pun; to practice punning. Cudworth.
Syn.
– To cavil; shuffle; equivocate; trifle.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
28 June 2025
(adjective) having an allergy or peculiar or excessive susceptibility (especially to a specific factor); “allergic children”; “hypersensitive to pollen”
Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.