Small, unimportant things, or a British dessert made with sponge cake, custard, jam, and whipped cream.
From Old French 'trifle' (a deception or joking matter), possibly from Old Norse. The word meant 'something of little value' by the 1500s. The dessert meaning came later, possibly because it was considered a light, frivolous food.
Trifle dessert is a perfect example of food vocabulary reflecting class—wealthy Victorians served elaborate trifles at dinner parties as 'mere trifles,' but they were actually expensive, carefully layered creations! The word is basically food that's pretending to be unimportant.
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