Category:Squib

Squib, n. Etym: [oe. squippen, swippen, to move swiftky, icel. svipa To swoop, flash, dart, whip; akin to as. swipian to whip, and e. Swift, a. See swift, a.]

1. A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or Combustible matter, to be thrown into the air while burning, so as to Burst there with a crack. Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze. Waller. The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs. . . is punishable. Blackstone.

2. (mining)

Defn: a kind of slow match or safety fuse.

3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty Essay. Who copied his squibs, and reëchoed his jokes. Goldsmith.

4. A writer of lampoons. [obs.] The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called Libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers. Tatler.

5. A paltry fellow. [obs.] Spenser.

Squib Squib, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squibbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squibbing.]

Defn: to throw squibs; to utter sarcatic or severe reflections; to Contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little debate. [colloq.]