trifle

The game badly misses Alcaraz—“Tennis needs him,” Sinner said Sunday—but no tennis player should trifle with a bad wrist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Would you be nervous if you needed to call Sir Ben Kingsley — always “Sir Ben,” you don’t trifle with the title — and convince him to be in your movie?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

"I have noticed that there have been cars parked on the side of the road and it creates congestion which does seem a trifle bit weird and annoying," said visitor Philip Johnson.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Still, it is the frolicsome rapport between the two stars that gives this comic trifle of a play its allure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026

But the gift was what Father would have called a fairy trifle.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

A rewatch lends itself to the trifles peppered throughout Wineman’s clever script, but there’s nothing quite like the first time seeing his film transform from its humble beginnings to its jaw-dropping final act.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

As the judge in that case noted, the law is not concerned with insignificant trifles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025

She’s interested in adding regular savories such as pasties and sausage rolls, and maybe bringing new treats such as trifles or Eton Messes to her roster.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

Other, seemingly familiar terms — romper room, sherry trifles — have their innocence stripped from them to reveal a second, more sinister meaning.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2022

After a long silence, and after their talk had turned to trifles then on to the narrowness of life, Violet said to Alice Manfred, “Wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t fight for your man?”

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

“While we want stable relationships,” Graham said, “we will not be trifled with.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

Whitney is not a mountain to be trifled with, and a lot of people lack respect for it and find themselves in dangerous situations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2025

“These fittings are not something to be trifled with.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2023

Sleep is not to be trifled with; there is nothing low-stakes about it.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 16, 2023

She told them calmly, “Never mind, girls, this machine mustn’t be trifled with, but certainly is airworthy.”

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The traffic cone guys weren't letting such trifling issues dampen their day.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

But it’s the songs that talk about brushing off stifling, trifling men, including the title track and “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” that have the most staying power.

From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2026

Before IMG and ProServ, athletes typically got trifling rewards for endorsing products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026

Whatever the cause, it is not some trifling oversight; this blunder undermined Ziegler’s most important legal rejoinder to the majority.

From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2025

It was as if he had had to pay the same note twice because of some trifling oversight of date or signature.

From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner