Submit Response is a weblog by Jack Mottram, a One Who Suffles
Sometimes, after a few drinks, I am known to use archaic terms for humorous effect. Humorous to me, anyway.
Last night, I called my friend Hannah a tergiversator, which means someone who changes sides, or who obfuscates through use of deliberately vague language, or who is a turncoat. This morning, I went looking for the word on the interweb, to see if I could work out where I might have picked it up. The Free Dictionary defines it thus:
Ter´gi`ver`sa`torn.
1. One who tergiversates; one who suffles, or practices evasion
One who suffles? It’s a typo, I assume, but that’s not going to stop me using it. Or maybe not, I’m in a suffling mood today, you see.
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oh that’s what you two were wittering on about last night, i see. i hope you’ve stopped with those pictures now…
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They’ll be on the Photographs page later today for you to enjoy!
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Andy - I think a lot of online dictionaries use the same source. The mystery begins when you try to define suffle:
http://suffles.word.sytes.org/
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/suffles
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=suffle
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Clearly, the word suffle is suffling - practising evasion. It’s a self-defining word.
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Hee - so it is, Terg.
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It should read… “One who shuffles”
See the last line on http://tergiversate.word.sytes.org/Thank you for using my dictionary site.
Jonathan Hunt
Word Sytes admin -
I say to you - thanks and thanks and ever thanks : )
I had to google ‘suffle’ in order to find your site and it’s definition. I refer you to Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, act III:My kind Antonio,
I can no other answer make but thanks,
And thanks, and ever thanks, and oft good turns
Are suffled off with such uncurrent pay;
But, were my worth as is my conscious firm,
You should find better dealing.Linda Smith
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