trifle
part of speech
noun (a trifle, trifles; trifle — uncountable as a dessert); verb (trifle, trifles, trifled, trifling — with «with»); adverb phrase «a trifle»
meaning for a pupil
1) A cold dessert made of layers of sponge cake, fruit or jelly, custard and cream, popular in the UK, Ireland, Australia and NZ. tree →
2) Something small and unimportant. tree →
3) (in «a trifle») A little, slightly: «a trifle tired». tree →
4) (in «trifle with») To treat someone or something without enough respect or seriousness. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life trifle is a party and Christmas dessert in many British, Irish, Australian and NZ homes. In stories, «a trifle» as an adverb sounds old-fashioned or polite: «a trifle cold». «Not to be trifled with» warns that someone or something is serious or dangerous. Phrases: «a trifle», «not to be trifled with», «strawberry trifle».
examples
- ()f the Sefer Yetzirah II little need be said ; it abounds in trifles, contradictions and repetitions. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
- Grandma made a big trifle for the party. tree →
- The trifle had layers of jelly, custard and cream. tree →
- Don't worry about such trifles. tree →
- The soup was a trifle too salty. tree →
- The old king was not a man to be trifled with. tree →
- It cost only a trifle, so I bought it. tree →
- (informal) That's a trifle unfair, isn't it? tree →
- But the dwarfs were not to be trifled with. tree →
note
As a dessert, it can be countable («two trifles») or uncountable («some trifle»). Adjective: «trifling» (unimportant). «A trifle» meaning «slightly» is formal or old-fashioned; children usually say «a bit».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «trifle» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.