blither

verb

1. (UK, dialectal, informal, intransitive)To talk foolishly; to blather.

   “Personality is what I am aiming at, not mere manners. That is not strong enough for a man who "blithers" as you do.”

   “If he was to blither, it was only fair that she should bleat back.”

   “He called you man, but he blithered a lot, you would hardly heed at all what he said— […]”

   “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?”

   “Andrews was blithering now. It was sad, really, to watch a skilled professional sink so quickly into the quagmire.”

noun

1. (UK, dialectal, informal, uncountable)Foolish or nonsensical talk; blather; (countable) an instance of this.

   “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.”

   “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.”

   “"There's a lot of blither talked about women's economic independence today, but the real reason that drives them into offices and factories is to escape from the kitchen."”

   “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?”

   “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. (broadly, countable, dated, derogatory)A foolish person; a fool, an idiot.

   “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."”

   “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.”

   “'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.'”

adj

1. (comparative, form-of)comparative form of blithe: more blithe