snifts

Noun (1)

snift (countable and uncountable, plural snifts)

1. (UK, dialectal, obsolete, Lancashire) A moment; a while.
   • An' if thou'll make a shift effort
     To tak thi time a bit, owd lass,
     Thou's have him in a snift!a. 1890, Edwin Waugh, Dinner Time
2. (UK, dialectal, uncountable) A light dusting, as of snow.
   • Good Lorjus, Meary ! theawrt so hasty; so I clum th' steeigh in o snift, shoavt th' awts eawt, an smackt me riddle oth' hoyle.1746, Samuel Bamford, Tim Bobbin's Tummus, page 15

Noun (2)

snift (plural snifts)

1. A deliberate release of pressure and vapor, such as from a steam engine, or bottling equipment.
   • The proper use of the air cock is, that after the engine is got steadily to work, and the snift emits no more than it should do, that the air cock should be opened as much as it can be to let the engine come fairly in, that is, for the piston to come fully down, and if it goes out in preference to...1827, John Farey, A Treatise on the Steam Engine, page 253

See all 6 meanings of snift