Waffle (speech)
Waffle is language without meaning; blathering, babbling, droning. One might waffle throughout an essay or a presentation, when not having enough material, or needing to fill in time. The term may be derived from the Scots verb waff[1] "to wave, fluctuate".[2]
To waffle, particularly in the U.S., can also denote indecision about particular subjects, or changing one's mind frequently on a topic. Example: "Eoin always waffles when he's speaking to John on their podcast". To which John usually replies "Come on Eoin, come out with it!". It can be used as a derogatory term; to describe, for instance, a candidate or politician who is considered to easily switch sides on issues to curry political favor (i.e. "flip-flop"), as an easily flipped breakfast food with the same name – hence the waffle famously used to represent President Bill Clinton in the Doonesbury comic strip.[3]
References
- ^ William Safire (2004), "The waffling of the wishy-washy", The New York Times
- ^ John Jamieson (1808), "WAFF", An etymological dictionary of the Scottish language, vol. 2
- ^ Tom Raum (1994), The waffle: White House no longer amused by cartoon, Associated Press
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