Squib
(Squib) n. [OE. squippen, swippen, to move swiftly, Icel. svipa to swoop, flash, dart, whip; akin
to AS. swipian to whip, and E. swift, a. See Swift, a.]
1. A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or combustible matter, to be thrown into
the air while burning, so as to burst there with a crack.
Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze.
Waller.
The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . . . is punishable.
Blackstone. 2. (Mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.
3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay.
Who copied his squibs, and reëchoed his jokes.
Goldsmith. 4. A writer of lampoons. [Obs.]
The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers.
Tatler. 5. A paltry fellow. [Obs.] Spenser.
Squib
(Squib), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squibbed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Squibbing.] To throw squibs; to utter
sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little debate. [Colloq.]
