In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.
whiffle (plural whiffles)
A short blow or gust.
(obsolete) Something small or insignificant; a trifle.
(obsolete) A fife or small flute.
whiffle (third-person singular simple present whiffles, present participle whiffling, simple past and past participle whiffled)
To blow a short gust.
To waffle, talk aimlessly.
(British) To waste time.
To travel quickly with an accompanying wind-like sound; whizz, whistle along.
(ornithology, of a bird) To descend rapidly from a height once the decision to land has been made, involving fast side-slipping first one way and then the other.
(intransitive) To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about.
(transitive) To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.
To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle.
• I. Watts
To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter.
Source: Wiktionary
Whif"fle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whiffled; p. pr. & vb. n. Whiffling.] Etym: [Freq. of whiff to puff, perhaps influenced by D. weifelen to waver.]
1. To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about. D
2. To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle. A person of whiffing and unsteady turn of mind can not keep close to a point of controversy. I. Watts.
Whif"fle, v. t.
1. To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.
2. To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.
Whif"fle, n.
Definition: A fife or small flute. [Obs.] Douce.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
2 April 2025
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.