A Trifle Is a Small Thing and a Large Pudding
A trifle is something unimportant. It is also a layered British dessert, named because it began as a light and casual dish.
A trifle is something of little importance — and, in Britain, a substantial pudding of sponge, custard, fruit and cream. The dessert took the name in the sixteenth century when it was genuinely a trifle: a light flavoured cream, nothing like the layered construction that later claimed the word. The original French *trufle* meant mockery or a tall tale.
- Something unimportant. *A mere trifle.*
- A layered dessert. *A sherry trifle.*
- A trifle — slightly. *A trifle uncomfortable.*
- Trifle with — treat carelessly. *Do not trifle with him.*
- Trifling — insignificant. *A trifling sum.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | trifle | A small trifle. |
| Plural | trifles | Petty trifles. |
| Verb | trifle | Trifle with danger. |
| Adjective | trifling | Trifling errors. |
| Adverbial | a trifle | A trifle late. |
- It cost a trifle over a hundred pounds.Slightly.
- She made a trifle for Christmas.The pudding.
- He is not a man to trifle with.Warning.
What goes in a trifle
- Sponge — often soaked in sherry
- Fruit — traditionally berries or tinned peaches
- Custard — the defining layer
- Cream — whipped, on top
- Jelly — divisive; many cooks insist it does not belong
Old French *trufle*, mockery or a trick, a diminutive of *truffe*. English recorded the sense of a small unimportant thing in the 1200s and the dessert in the 1500s.
Why is the dessert called a trifle?
Because the original version was a light, casual dish — literally a trifle. The elaborate layered form came later and kept the modest name.
What does a trifle late mean?
Slightly late. Used adverbially, a trifle is a mild understatement.