Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Squib?

\Squib\, n. [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) 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 re["e]choed 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\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Squibbed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Squibbing}.] To throw squibs; to utter sarcatic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little debate. [Colloq.]