piggling

Verb

piggle (third-person singular simple present piggles, present participle piggling, simple past and past participle piggled)

1. (transitive) To dig or uproot; to scrape.
   • I took my revenge on th' round-house, for I piggled all th' plaster off o' the walls that I could […]1841, Charles Hooton, Colin Clink, page 140
2. (intransitive) To toy or fiddle.
   • Then all nature was presently converted into an object for microscopic study, so that everything, whether near or far, must be piggled at and made clear to the utmost limit of human power.1876, Alfred Dawson, English Landscape Art, in its Position and Prospects, page 16
3. To cause to worry, to make uncomfortable; niggle.
   • BUDD. Get up yourself, and shut up, too! You have piggled me enough, you old smooty-snoot!1899, David Belasco, Naughty Anthony
4. To worry about minor points.
   • But of what value is all that piggling, niggling, — you call the little thing piggling, niggling?1836, Joanna Baillee, The Alienated Manor: A Comedy

See all 5 meanings of piggle