What's the difference between falsehood and piffle?

Falsehood


Definition:

  • (n.) Want of truth or accuracy; an untrue assertion or representation; error; misrepresentation; falsity.
  • (n.) A deliberate intentional assertion of what is known to be untrue; a departure from moral integrity; a lie.
  • (n.) Treachery; deceit; perfidy; unfaithfulness.
  • (n.) A counterfeit; a false appearance; an imposture.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It’s impossible to automate fully the process of separating truth from falsehood, and it’s dubious to cede such control to for-profit media giants.
  • (2) Unfortunately, this explosion is mild compared with the number of myths, falsehoods and downright lies which have accompanied these ideas.
  • (3) Mourinho’s pre-match utterances are generally best skimmed for the odd word not specifically dedicated to inflammatory falsehoods, but Chelsea’s manager was correct to offer some wary respect for the Football League’s champion club and here, lining up in a tightly knit 4-4-2, Leicester were sharp in the tackle early on, and pacy on the break throughout.
  • (4) When blatant falsehoods are presented as truth on critical questions - by a film that touts itself as a journalistic presentation of actual events - insisting on apolitical appreciation of this "art" is indeed a reckless abdication.
  • (5) The UK's biggest retailer began legal proceedings against the paper and its editor, Alan Rusbridger, for libel and malicious falsehood.
  • (6) Mayer blasted “falsehoods” she said had been circulating in the media, including reports that the company had spent $7m on its holiday party and $4m on a food program.
  • (7) Just as the Victorian science revolution played havoc with religious superstition, so the information revolution can now play havoc with political falsehood.
  • (8) In response Maguwu gave himself up and was charged with publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the economic interests of the state.
  • (9) Among the nine instances of alleged falsehoods, it is alleged that Coulson falsely claimed that he did not know his royal editor Clive Goodman was involved in hacking, that he did not know payments were being paid to Mulcaire for hacking and that he had not heard Mulcaire’s name prior to his arrest.
  • (10) So what are the facts and falsehoods about our new fivers?
  • (11) "They promote a falsehood, the homophobic idea of 'therapy' to change the sexual orientation of lesbians and gay men."
  • (12) I now had to learn about the law of malicious falsehood – the company claimed I personally had deliberately constructed a lie – as well as a libel.
  • (13) When it was a good story it was worth doing the extra work, but much of the time it would turn out to be a lie.” The woes of fact-checking Trump are now well known, but they weren’t then, or even when Mulcahy first wrote about them publicly: her 1988 book about her time at Page Six devotes an entire half a chapter to Trump’s fondness for falsehoods.
  • (14) Abbott has in an interview with Fairfax unleashed a fresh tirade about Julie Bishop , accusing her of peddling falsehoods about the events leading up to Turnbull’s ascension.
  • (15) But how many more times must we be subjected to the utter falsehood that somehow Cameron had to “meet the challenges of economic crisis”, as Vernon Bogdanor writes?
  • (16) Michael Cohen told the Associated Press on Saturday that Schneiderman's lawsuit was filled with falsehoods.
  • (17) While the internet and social media can lead to the rapid spread of falsehoods and dubious claims, they can also be used to check quickly such claims and expose lies ( Trump and Brexit herald a brave new word: post-truth , 16 November).
  • (18) The New York Times was right to call out the White House on obvious falsehoods, but its big headline was part of the reactive news coverage that Trump gamed throughout his campaign.
  • (19) And MSNBC still has quite a ways to go before it matches Fox's demonstrated willingness to spew outright falsehoods in pursuit of its partisan agenda.
  • (20) During a trip to Kiev, US secretary of state John Kerry claimed Moscow was “working hard to create a pretext for Russia to invade further,” and “hiding its hand behind falsehoods, intimidation and provocations.” Kerry also scoffed at reports of a news conference held by Vladimir Putin in which he appeared to deny a Russian military presence in Crimea.

Piffle


Definition:

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Is it hopelessly old fart-ish to hope exposure that to the horrors described by Buergenthal will remind all of us of the piffling nature of our next household conflagration about who gets to wear which pair of jeans, or whether homework on the weekend really constitutes a hardship – or even, somehow, temper the demand for new electronic equipment?
  • (2) If he can't do this here, then his global rhetoric will look thin indeed - and it's no use announcing some piffling sum and pretending it will do.
  • (3) Dan Nolan (@dannolan) PEFO more like piffle boom August 13, 2013 3.40am BST Bowen is asked whether the assumptions in PEFO are a reflection on the efficacy or otherwise of the PNG Solution.
  • (4) The bottom line for us is they were asking the taxpayers for $50m to buy new plant and equipment … so Coca-Cola Amatil could make a larger profit,” Hockey said, as he campaigned for next weekend’s by-election in the Brisbane seat of Griffith But Sharman Stone, the Coalition backbencher who represents the area, said the government is “scapegoating” SPC Ardmona and exaggerating “piffling” issues in the companies’ enterprise agreement to draw the struggling fruit manufacturer into a “union witch-hunt”.
  • (5) The government is “scapegoating” SPC Ardmona and exaggerating “piffling” issues in the companies’ enterprise agreement to draw the struggling fruit manufacturer into a “union witch-hunt”, the Coalition backbencher Sharman Stone has said.
  • (6) As a result, disabled people are losing more than any other group, not by some piffling, coincidental amount, but by a factor of three or four; by thousands of pounds a year.
  • (7) It’s true that claimants are sanctioned for piffling reasons .
  • (8) The targets aren't piffling, incidentally – they are significantly beyond "answering to your name".
  • (9) There was never any question of me being offered it, or of it being debated … It’s just, as they say, poppycock and piffle.” The tensions surrounding the reshuffle were illustrated in the early evening as a heated discussion appeared to break out in Corbyn’s office after the Labour leader outlined his thinking for the reshuffle to Benn.
  • (10) Eurosceptics are right to think that the terms secured are piffling, even if he gets everything on the table.
  • (11) But there is, at least, anecdotal evidence to suggest that the often perceptive mayor's notion is an "inverted pyramid of piffle".
  • (12) Over the past century they were used not only to "explain" this piffle about cornflakes but, more insidiously, to explain differences in achievement between black and white schoolchildren in the US.
  • (13) Cameron found himself on the back foot, defending his plans to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership in the face of Lawson's contemptuous assessment that he will secure only "piffling changes".
  • (14) The DfE’s guidelines on the use of exclamation marks for its spelling and grammar tests were “piffle” and “tortuous nonsense”, according to Blower.
  • (15) But Stone, the member for the seat of Murray which includes Shepparton, said the provisions were “piffling” and “add up at most to a few thousand dollars when the company has been losing millions at the plant because of the broader economic conditions and because of the government’s policies.” The “wet” allowance, she said, had only ever been paid to workers who provided their own protective “space suits” to be worn when using caustic soda to clean the plant.
  • (16) Sandler, a perennial Razzie "favourite", saw his film beat rivals such as Will and Jaden Smith sci-fi bomb After Earth , festive celluloid piffle A Madea Christmas and ensemble turkey Movie 43 , all of which scored six nominations.
  • (17) These sentiments are dismissed by Merivel's Quaker friend, Pearce, as "pagan, freakish piffle", but Merivel clings to them, orders an artist's smock and a floppy hat, canvases, pigments and brushes, and sets about his task with his characteristic over-enthusiasm, only to understand very quickly that his work has no value whatsoever.
  • (18) But he wrote a load of racist, reactionary, negative, neocon piffle."
  • (19) There was never any question of me being offered it, or of it being debated … It’s just, as they say, poppycock and piffle.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest “It’s poppycock and piffle”: Diane Abbott dismisses shadow foreign secretary rumour Lewis, a new MP who has served in the army in Afghanistan, said he would not be keen to take on a shadow cabinet role so quickly.
  • (20) Instead, I'm snacking on the scraps of joyous piffle like Alex Polizzi's The Fixer .