sphinxing

Verb

sphinx (third-person singular simple present sphinxes, present participle sphinxing, simple past and past participle sphinxed)

1. (transitive) To decorate with sphinxes.
   • a marble sphinxed chimney-piece
2. (intransitive, transitive) To adopt the posture of the Sphinx.
   • A hot lion with a very bloated stomach … will adopt either a sphinxed or a squatting posture which takes some of the weight off its belly.
3. (intransitive, transitive) To be inscrutable, often through silence.
   • The sphinxèd riddle of the Universe,
     Nature's unsolved enigma, who may prove?1900, Leigh Gordon Giltner, “Love and Death”, in The Path of Dreams: Poems, page 27
4. (intransitive) To behave in a manner characteristic of the Sphinx.
   • Perhaps Nature is sphinxing us on purpose. Whatever her objects may be, perhaps she gets her work done better when she appeals to our gambling instincts. If you knew for certain exactly how your marriage was going to turn out[…]1933, Roycroft Junto Outlines, The Roycrofters, page 412

See all 11 meanings of sphinx