waffle

/ˈwɑfəl/

/ˈwɒfəl/

Other forms: waffles; waffling; waffled

You might think of a waffle as a grid-patterned pancake-like food that's tasty with syrup, and you'd be right. But the word is also a verb that means to avoid making a definitive decision.

The verb waffle seems to have its origins in the 1690s as the word waff, "to yelp," possibly in imitation of the yelping of dogs. The word soon came to mean "to talk foolishly" and then eventually "to vacillate, to change." The food term waffle, as part of "waffle iron," appeared in 1794, a descendant of the Dutch word wafel, which comes from the same Germanic source as weave: it's easy to see the waffle pattern as similar to a woven fabric.

Definitions of waffle

1. noun

   a batter cake baked and pressed between two patterned metal plates
   types:

   Belgian waffle

   thick sweet waffle often eaten with ice cream or fruit sauce

   type of:

   cake

   baked goods made from or based on a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, and fat
2. verb

   pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
   synonyms: hesitate, waver

   types:

   dwell on, linger over

   delay

   boggle

   hesitate when confronted with a problem, or when in doubt or fear

   hover, linger

   linger or remain near a place

   hover, oscillate, vacillate, vibrate

   be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

   falter, waver

   be unsure or weak

   shilly-shally, shillyshally

   hesitate or be unable to decide; go back and forth on