squib

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A small firecracker.
2. n. A broken firecracker that burns but does not explode.
3. n. A brief satirical or witty writing or speech, such as a lampoon.
4. n. A short, sometimes humorous piece in a newspaper or magazine, usually used as a filler.
5. v. To write or utter squibs.
6. v. To write or utter squibs against; lampoon.
7. v. Football To kick (the ball) low on a kickoff so that it bounces along the ground.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To move swiftly and irregularly.
2. To make a slight, sharp report, like that of an exploding squib.
3. To resort to the use of squibs, or petty lampoons.
4. To throw (in or out) suddenly; explode.
5. To attack in squibs; lampoon.
6. n. A ball or tube filled with gunpowder, sent or fired swiftly through the air or along the ground, exploding somewhat like a rocket.
7. n. A reed, rush, quill, or roll of paper filled with a priming of gunpowder; a tube of some kind used to set off a charge of gunpowder, as at the bottom of a drill-hole. Also called mote, train, and match.
8. n. A fire-cracker, especially one broken in the middle so that when it is fired the charge explodes without a loud report.
9. n. A petty lampoon; a short satirical writing or sketch holding up a person or thing to ridicule.
10. n. One who writes lampoons or squibs; a petty satirist; a paltry, trifling fellow.
11. n. A kind of cheap taffy, made of treacle.

Wiktionary

1. n. military A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.
2. n. A similar device used to ignite an explosive or launch a rocket, etc.
3. n. US Any small firecracker sold to the general public. Usually available in special clusters designed to explode in series after a single master fuze is lit.
4. n. automotive The heating element used to set off the sodium azide pellets in a vehicle's airbag.
5. n. A small explosive used to replicate a bullet hitting a surface.
6. n. dated A short piece of witty writing; a lampoon.
7. n. law In a legal casebook, a short summary of a legal action placed between more extensively quoted cases.
8. n. linguistics A short article, often published in journals, that introduces empirical data problematic to linguistic theory or discusses an overlooked theoretical problem. In contrast to a typical linguistic article, a squib need not answer the questions that it poses.
9. n. archaic An unimportant, paltry, or mean-spirited person.
10. n. slang A sketched concept or visual solution, usually very quick and not too detailed. A word most commonly used within the Graphic Design industry.
11. v. To make a sound such as a small explosion.
12. v. colloquial, dated To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute.
13. v. this sense?) (slang) To draw a concept or layout to visually explain an idea ("let me squib something to show you what I mean").

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or combustible matter, to be thrown into the air while burning, so as to burst there with a crack.
2. n. (Mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.
3. n. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay.
4. n. obsolete A writer of lampoons.
5. n. obsolete A paltry fellow.
6. v. colloq. To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. firework consisting of a tube filled with powder (as a broken firecracker) that burns with a fizzing noise