whiffletree

A bar to which the traces of an animal's harne are connected, and whereby the vehicle is drawn; a whipple-tree. The terms single, double, and treble tree are more convenient, and expre ive of their capacity. *whif-fler, s. [Eng. whiffle , s.; -er.] 1. One who whiffles; one who frequently changes his opinions or course; one who uses shifts or evasions in arguments; a fickle or unsteady person; a trifler. 2. A piper or fifer. 3. A wand-bearer to head a proce ion; an officer who led the way in proce ions, and who cleared the way by blowing a horn or trumpet; any person who led the way in a proce ion. " Whifflers originally headed armies or proce ions as fifers or pipers; in proce of time the word whifflers , which had always been used in the sense of a fifer, came to signify any person who went before in a proce ion." Douce : Illustrations of Shakespeare . Hence, a harbinger of any kind. (See extract under SHOEING-HORN, II. 1.) whiffling-pin, subst. [Eng. whift (e); -ing, and pin. A game played with a plate or circular disk which is made to revolve on edge, and the player whose name is called by the spinner must catch the plate before it ceases to revolve. IMG:content-0824.png:[blocks in formation]