SQUIB

I. noun Etymology: origin unknown Date: circa 1525 1. a short humorous or satiric writing or speech, a short news item, 2. a small firecracker, a broken firecracker in which the powder burns with a fizz, a small electric or pyrotechnic device used to ignite a charge, II. verb (~bed; ~bing) Date: circa 1580 intransitive verb to speak, write, or publish ~s, to fire a ~, transitive verb 1. to utter in an offhand manner, to make ~s against ; lampoon , to shoot off ; fire , to kick (a football) on a kickoff so that it bounces along the ground