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A.Word.A.Day--persiflage

noun: Light-hearted or flippant treatment of a subject; banter.

[From French persiflage, from persifler (to banter), from per- (thoroughly) + siffler (to whistle or hiss), from Old French, from Late Latin sifilare, an alteration of Latin sibilare (to hiss).]

"It is derivative rather than destructive humour which presupposes serious history on which to base their persiflage."
Stewart Lamont; It's the Way You Tell Them, When Something is Sacred; The Herald (Glasgow, UK); May 30, 1998.

See more usage examples of persiflage in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

This week's theme: Miscellaneous words

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