persifler

The only thing, then, that I can find like a precedent for your way of speaking (and I would willingly help you to one if I could) is the modern art de persifler, practiced with great success by the Petits maitres at Paris.

Letters to his son on The Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman 2005

A peine se couvrent-elles le sein d'un voile transparent très-léger ou de je ne sais quelle palatine qu'elles nomment point-à-jour, qui, en couvrant tout, ne cache rien; en sorte que si elles n'étalent pas tous leurs charmes à découvert, c'est que les hommes les moins scrupuleux, qui se contentent de les persifler, en seraient révoltés tout-à-fait.

A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume One Thomas Frognall Dibdin 1811

The only thing, then, that I can find like a precedent for your way of speaking (and I would willingly help you to one if I could) is the modern art 'de persifler', practiced with great success by the 'Petits maitres' at Paris.

Complete Project Gutenberg Earl of Chesterfield Works Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield 1733

The only thing, then, that I can find like a precedent for your way of speaking (and I would willingly help you to one if I could) is the modern art 'de persifler', practiced with great success by the 'Petits maitres' at Paris.

Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman, 1748 Philip Dormer Stanhope Chesterfield 1733