blither

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English

WOTD – 7 November 2024

Etymology 1

The verb is a variant[1] of blether (Northern England, Scotland), blather (“to say (something foolish or nonsensical); to say (something) in a foolish or overly verbose way; to babble (something); to talk rapidly without making much sense; to cry loudly, blubber”),[2] from Middle English bloderen, blotheren (“to babble; to cry loudly, blubber”),[3] from Old Norse blaðra (“to talk foolishly or inarticulately”), from blaðr (“nonsense”); further etymology uncertain.

The noun is a variant[4] of blether, blather (“foolish or nonsensical talk”), either from blether, blather (verb), or from Old Norse blaðr (“nonsense”): see above.[5]

Pronunciation

Verb

blither (third-person singular simple present blithers, present participle blithering, simple past and past participle blithered)

  1. (intransitive, informal or UK, dialectal) To talk foolishly; to blather.
    Synonym: (Northern England, Scotland) blether
    • 1898 October 1, “Olla Podrida”, in The London Figaro, number 2226, Odhams George Slater, →OCLC, page 6, column 2:
      Personality is what I am aiming at, not mere manners. That is not strong enough for a man who "blithers" as you do.
    • 1903, Jerome K[lapka] Jerome, chapter I, in Tea-table Talk, London: Hutchinson & Co. , →OCLC, page 20:
      If he was to blither, it was only fair that she should bleat back.
    • 1933 July, Lewis Grassic Gibbon [pseudonym; James Leslie Mitchell], “Stratus”, in Cloud Howe, London: Jarrolds Publishers , →OCLC, page 164:
      He called you man, but he blithered a lot, you would hardly heed at all what he said— […]
    • 1989, Miles Kington, “Meaningless Phrases”, in Welcome to Kington: The Selected Columns of Miles Kington, London: Canelo Digital Publishing, published 2016, →ISBN:
      I mean, how does one blither? How can one stop blithering? How do I know when I am blithering? Or is blithering perhaps a useful core activity these days?
    • 2002 September, Julie Garwood, chapter 5, in Killjoy, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 78:
      Andrews was blithering now. It was sad, really, to watch a skilled professional sink so quickly into the quagmire.
    • 2009, Arthur Phillips, chapter 13, in The Song is You , New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 85:
      You've reduced me down to the dregs / You won't seduce me, though I stand here and beg / I'm blithering, you're dithering, I'm your slithering fool.
    • 2020, Richard Holledge, “Betrayal”, in Voices of the Mayflower: The Saints, Strangers and Sly Knaves who Changed the World, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Matador, Troubador Publishing, →ISBN, page 61:
      Mary the maid blithered away, worrying about the state of the coppers in the kitchen, who would collect the hens' eggs […]
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

blither (countable and uncountable, plural blithers)

  1. (informal or UK, dialectal, uncountable) Foolish or nonsensical talk; blather; (countable) an instance of this.
    • 1883, D R McAnally, “Our English Songs”, in The Philosophy of English Poetry, Columbia, Mo.: Missouri University, →OCLC, page 131:
      He also knows if the work of the lyric poet be simply "stringin' blithers together, for fools to sing," that a very large percentage of the literary work of the world has been done in vain and this can by no means be admitted.
    • 1915 July 6, William Ferguson Massey, “Regulation of Trade and Commerce Amendment Bill ”, in New Zealand. Parliamentary Debates. First Session, Nineteenth Parliament.  (House of Representatives), volume 172, Wellington: John Mackay, government printer, →OCLC, page 173, column 1:
      To speak about the product of his labour being 'unearned' is equivalent to bathing in a sea of blither. There is no such thing as unearned increment in the product of labour at the point where meat, or wheat, or butter leaves the hands of the producer, for its exchange value represents his wages.
    • 1989, Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, “How to Try a Jury Case: A Lawyer’s View”, in John G[eorge] Koeltl, editor, The Litigation Manual: A Primer for Trial Lawyers, 2nd edition, Chicago, Ill.: [ABA Publishing for the] Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, →ISBN, epilogue, page 1209:
      I'll get up and do a blither into the videotape. And then I'll play it back and look at it. Is that the best I can do? Am I communicating with my body, verbally, intellectually?
    • 2022, Frances Liardet, Think of Me, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN, page 190:
      Your news, or lack of, is the subject at hand. I'm sure you know, Mr. Acton, that I didn't expect a screed. I can't abide pages of blither.
  2. (countable, by extension, derogatory, dated) A foolish person; a fool, an idiot.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:fool
    • 1896, Benjamin Swift [pseudonym; William Romaine Paterson], “Runs between Abbeylands and the Haws”, in Nancy Noon , 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 42:
      Indeed, it was Mr. Buck's private opinion that in the matter of plants and flowers Sir John and Lady Moulter were "a pair of old blithers."
    • 1980 August, Bill Tarrant, “Why the Gun-shy Dog?”, in Jack Samson, editor, Field & Stream, volume LXXXV, number 4, New York, N.Y.: CBS Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 114, column 1:
      Little Miss Cricket pointed a thicket, prompting the birds to stay. When along came a blither who fired right beside her and frightened Miss Cricket away. Yes, that'll do nicely. And as for a blither, Webster tells us that's an idiot. And it's idiots who make gun-shy dogs.
    • 2024, J. L. Martin, chapter 12, in The Golden Glow (Samsara—The First Season; 1), : Time Travellers Publishing House, →ISBN:
      'But I like my breasts better without a corset,' I huffed at her. 'You may like them better, but so will the hundreds of blithers hanging 'round them docks. Now, come over here so I can lace you up and get you into this dress. The sooner you get it done, the dooner you will be back in bed.'
Translations

Etymology 2

From blithe +‎ -er (suffix forming the comparative forms of adjectives).

Pronunciation

Adjective

blither

  1. comparative form of blithe: more blithe

References

  1. ^ “blither, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024; “blither, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “blether | blather, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “blether, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022; “blather, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  3. ^ “bloderen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  4. ^ “blither, n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2024; “blither, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  5. ^ “blether | blather, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “blether, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022; “blather, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Anagrams

Scots

Adjective

blither

  1. comparative degree of blithe
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