REVISED

A lesson in the dangers of relying too heavily on 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 the [Ngram chart][2] with "waffling" included in the search. It tells a very different story. 

![Ngram display with "waffling" included][3]

Notice how *waffling* dominates the map,  making *he waffled* insignificant and irrelevant. 

However, I still argue that the question is one of general reference. The scope for discussion is much wider than simply looking up the origins of *[waffle][4]* in Wikipedia. 

[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 include my personal definition of the **BrEng sense** of the word *waffle* which I gave to a British speaker who argues that there is no discernable difference between the BrEng meaning to that of the AmEng. I believe, strongly, there is a significant 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

 2. From [The New York Times][7] 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 *wishy-washy* is synonymous with *waffle* and not with verbosity or excessive wordiness.

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*) or "wavering" in its place. "Sitting on the fence", is also a possible alternative. 

The earliest instance I found of *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.

Instead, 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][6]* 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,...”

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  [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=R7kOAAAAIAAJ&q=waffling&dq=waffling&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-TVRVJnqI8vhywPYqoDAAg&redir_esc=y
  [7]: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/24/arts/24iht-saf25.html?_r=0