Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

piffle

/ˈpɪf.əl/ noun, verb

Forms piffles piffling piffled

  1. noun Nonsense, foolish talk.
  2. verb To act or speak in a futile, ineffective, or nonsensical manner.
  3. verb To waste, to fritter away.
  4. verb (dated) To be squeamish or delicate.

Synonyms

absurdity all my eye all my eye and Betty Martin apple grease applesauce bafflegab balderdash balls baloney banana oil Bandini baragouin batcrap batshit bilgewater blah blah-blah blah-blah-blah blather blatherskite fiddle-faddle chatter palaver prate tittle-tattle twaddle clack maunder prattle blab

Etymology

Unknown, 1847. Perhaps blend of piddle + trifle, perhaps puff (“(onomatopoeia, puff of air)”) + -le (“diminutive”).

Webster’s 1913

  1. verb To be sequeamish or delicate; hence, to act or talk triflingly or ineffectively; to twaddle; piddle. [Dial. or Slang]
  2. noun Act of piffling; trifling talk or action; piddling; twaddle.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “piffle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details