What's the difference between whiff and whiffle?

Whiff


Definition:

  • (n.) A sudden expulsion of air from the mouth; a quick puff or slight gust, as of air or smoke.
  • (n.) A glimpse; a hasty view.
  • (n.) The marysole, or sail fluke.
  • (v. t.) To throw out in whiffs; to consume in whiffs; to puff.
  • (v. t.) To carry or convey by a whiff, or as by a whiff; to puff or blow away.
  • (v. i.) To emit whiffs, as of smoke; to puff.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It may have been like punk never ‘appened, but you caught a whiff of the movement’s scorched earth puritanism in the mocking disdain with which Smash Hits addressed rock-star hedonism.
  • (2) He is also characterised as "the devoted husband of a bestselling novelist with a few of her own ideas about how fiction works"; a funny sentence construction that carries a faint whiff of husband stoically bent over his books as wife keeps popping up with pesky theories about realism.
  • (3) Similar messages delivered by previous populist, independent candidates like Ralph Nader and Ross Perot didn’t catch on because there was always that whiff of ego that voters like me could smell, coupled with lack of experience in government.
  • (4) The local undertakers were pleased to discover the great Henty to be the man they had always imagined - a full-bearded giant, stern and wise, dressed like a warrior hero or - much the same thing - a Victorian gentleman with the whiff of gunpowder and the clash of sabres about him.
  • (5) The zesty, citrus whiff of oranges freshens up the January kitchen, drawing a line under heavy celebratory food, and lighting up the virtuous, but enticing path to a lighter, healthier diet.
  • (6) The presence of three of the following four criteria was necessary: 1) vaginal pH greater than 4.5; 2) clue cells on the saline wet mount; 3) thin, homogeneous-appearing discharge; or 4) positive potassium hydroxide "whiff test."
  • (7) If Gleeson could be the guest speaker, how then could it be described as a “Liberal party event?” Even if it was a party occasion, the commissioner asks: “how does that demonstrate that the speaker has an affinity with a partiality for or a persuasion or allegiance or alignment to the Liberal party or lent it support?” If the fair minded lay observer (FMLO), who in this instance is the judge of apprehended bias, had an idea of Heydon’s record on the high court they might get a whiff of partiality to a particular world view, or philosophy.
  • (8) Despite the success of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, there was a whiff of snobbery.
  • (9) Photograph: Jon Tonks for the Guardian During the three years leading up to the final vote, the Sheringham story had often given off a questionable whiff.
  • (10) Great for families, but not those families offended by whiffs of a special herb wafting across the lawn.
  • (11) Yet that entire grand bazaar of old summer chemistry is all blended to me now and I can pick out just one: the first whiff of autumn.
  • (12) Now's as good a time as any to put out this reminder: authorities are on high alert and investigating everything that has even a whiff of suspicion.
  • (13) Paul Doyle The generally positive spirit: most referees allowed robust contact and, in turn, most players did not throw themselves to the ground at the first whiff of contact.
  • (14) It has more than a whiff of the Portsmouths about it.
  • (15) Add to that the venerated reputation of its wine, and a whiff of bourgeois privilege and conservatism, and you expect a city of well-groomed, self-satisfied people.
  • (16) You might even find people who think there is more than a whiff of sexism apparent in the building, and the critiques.
  • (17) 3.56pm: This retweet from the RMT has a Soviet whiff about it: RT @lindapalermo @LDN @rmtlondon #DearRMT I understand why you've called strike action and wish you victory in your actions.
  • (18) Male sketchwriters and assorted Westminster aficionados either affected bemused indulgence on behalf of their slighted sisters or scented the whiff of political-correctness-gone-mad.
  • (19) The venue was deserted and, more annoyingly, it was situated down a lane, affording the audience a whiff of urine prior to entering the palace of doom that I'd paid £7,500 for the privilege of hiring.
  • (20) He said there was a whiff of revenge in the air – for the police inquiry into MPs' expenses and the unjustified arrest in 2008 of the Tory MP Damian Green over a series of leaks from the Home Office about immigration.

Whiffle


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about.
  • (v. i.) To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle.
  • (v. t.) To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter.
  • (v. t.) To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.
  • (n.) A fife or small flute.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) While the crusaders litter the countryside with steaming piles of barbecued heretics, there's some modern Durr Vinci Code whiffle involving hooded business types and clandestine sacrifices conducted in the name of "ze inheritors of ze Grail".
  • (2) There'll be less of that meaningless corporate whiffle-waffle, sunshine.
  • (3) TSS-associated strains of S. aureus--whether positive or negative for TSS toxin 1 (TSST-1)--could not be distinguished from non-TSS-associated strains of S. aureus by means of the rabbit whiffle-ball infection model; therefore, limited pilot infection studies were conducted in pigs and baboons.

Words possibly related to "whiffle"