REVISED **A lesson in the dangers of relying too heavily on Google Ngram (aka *mea culpa*)** Previously, I posted an Ngram chart illustrating my surprise that waffle used in its verb form seemed to not exist before the late 1950s. When using Ngrams I started with a much wider timescale: 1800 to 2008, I hadn't noticed the tiny bump that appeared sometime in the 1920s. My error, my fault and for that I apologize. Here is the same Ngram updated. ![Ngram plotting "waffled"][1] When I dug a little deeper, I found a quote dated 1913 using waffle in its gerund form. Here is a new [Ngram chart][2] with "waffling" included in the search. As you can see, it tells a very different story. ![Ngram display with "waffling" included][3] Notice how *waffling* dominates the map, making *he waffled* insignificant and irrelevant. Furthermore, by sifting through the results on Google books I discovered that the term, *waffling*, refers to the art of making waffles and can be jokingly called a sport. On top of that, it's often used in the compound noun *waffling-irons* with and without the hyphen, and its past participle can be used as an adjective, as in a *waffled breakfast*, *waffled toast*, *waffled potatoes*, *waffled surface*, *waffled chiffon*, *waffled material*, *waffled leather* or a *waffled quilt*. (Who would have thought being an etymologist could be so exhausting!) As a result, I still maintain that the question is not one of general reference. The scope for discussion is much wider than simply looking up *[waffle][4]* in Wikipedia. A British speaker commented: > If someone keeps changing their mind, they are by definition being > vague and talking about nothing in particular. There could be other > reasons to (hiding something... not knowing what they are talking > about, etc) but that doesn't alter the fact that **BrEng and AmEng agree > that indecisive people waffle.** I believe the difference is more marked than the one suggested by the user. And I'll do my best to explain why. [Collins Dictionary](http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/waffle) gives this definition >British English: **waffle** If someone talks or writes a lot without saying anything clear or important, you can call what they say or write waffle. *He writes smug, sanctimonious waffle.* > Word Origin C19: **of unknown origin** [Merriam-Webster][5] offers >intransitive verb 1: *equivocate*, *vacillate* “waffled on the important issues”; also : *yo-yo*, *flip-flop* “she waffled when asked what she thought of her sister's new boyfriend” > Origin of WAFFLE >frequentative of obsolete *woff* to yelp, of imitative origin >First Known Use: **1868** 1. -- I'll include my personal definition of the **BrEng sense** of the word *waffle* which I left in a comment to the aforementioned British speaker who argues that there is no discernable difference. > *Waffling* in BrEng is primarily someone who keeps talking > endlessly about nothing in particular, it's like a drone sound, a lot > of words being said or written without coming to any conclusion. I wouldn't include hesitation or indecisiveness. The act of waffling could disguise someone's insecurity, as people do have a tendency to rattle on when they are nervous. Some, instead, become tongue-tied From 1957 a British newspaper [clipping][6] (1957) ![the term *waffling* is used to describe Labour MPs][7] - One of the earliest instances I found with the verb used in the BrEng sense is in a book entitled *[The Writings of Ian Hay: Happy-go-lucky][8]* by Ian Hay, dated **1913**. > “... little darling that ever walked this earth! She's a princess! She's a > fairy! She's a — ” The rhapsodist broke off short, and flushed red. > “Forgive me,” he said “**for waffling** like that, but I don't quite know what I 'm doing just at present. Dad, I'm the happiest man that ever lived!” ---------- 2. -- From [The New York Times][9] the **AmEng sense** > *Wishy-washyness*, often spelled *wishi-washiness*, is not synonymous with > *flip-floppiness*. I dealt with *flip-flop*, both noun and verb, a few > months ago, defining the side-switching not so much as a permanent > change of mind but with its verb synonym "waffle" (from the Scottish > waff, "gust of wind"; nothing to do with the Dutch wafel, "cake baked > on a grid"). The American journalist, William Safire, in this excerpt is clearly saying that *flip-flop* is synonymous with *waffle* and not with verbosity or excessive wordiness. The journalist continues “*The standard English synonym for the flip-flop verb is "vacillate."*” Another instance, which illustrates more clearly the difference between AmEng and BrEng use of *waffling* > Think of how much time you waste **waffling between a yes and a no**, > deciding whom to hire, where to locate your business and how to > organize your day. Now there is software that can make your choices > easier. <sup>Source: InfoWorld - 15 Aug 1983 - Page 88</sup> A British speaking person may have said “humming hawing” (US *hem haw*), “wavering” or “dithering” in its place. “Sitting on the fence” is another alternative. - The earliest instance I found for "*waffling between*" is dated **1964** in the *Ontario Library Review, Volumes 48-49* > His hero is a 30 year old Catholic bachelor **waffling between** the > priesthood and love of a lass, who is, alas, both a protestant and a > librarian. This is a readable novel with many droll characters. The earliest reference I found in Google books with waffled as it is used today is dated **1962** from *The U.S. Government Printing Office*. ![enter image description here][10] ![enter image description here][11] It's interesting to note that the term *waffled* is described as local jargon and in the earlier clipping it is quoted, implying that the term was relatively new and considered almost dialectal. ***Conclusions*** The findings so far seem to suggest that the verb *waffle* as used in the UK and in the US is much more recent than any of the references or dictionaries I consulted have suggested. There is no evidence that proves that the AmEng verb existed (at least in print) before the 1950s. Whereas in the UK the earliest instance of *waffled*, meaning to speak at great length without meaning, is dated 1913. [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/yTUBU.jpg [2]: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=he%20waffled%20on%2Che%20waffled%20and%2Cnever%20waffled%2C%20waffling&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=7&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Che%20waffled%20on%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Che%20waffled%20and%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cnever%20waffled%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cwaffling%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Che%20waffled%20on%3B%2Cc1%3B.t1%3B%2Che%20waffled%20and%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cnever%20waffled%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cwaffling%3B%2Cc1 [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/iCnlo.jpg [4]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_(speech) [5]: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waffle [6]: http://books.google.it/books?id=H2obAQAAMAAJ&q=waffling&dq=waffling&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Mi9SVN6PBMX5yQOI5YF4&redir_esc=y [7]: https://i.sstatic.net/5Ozai.jpg [8]: http://books.google.it/books?id=R7kOAAAAIAAJ&q=waffling&dq=waffling&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-TVRVJnqI8vhywPYqoDAAg&redir_esc=y [9]: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/arts/24iht-saf25.html?_r=0 [10]: https://i.sstatic.net/XasC0.jpg [11]: https://i.sstatic.net/TWtU8.jpg