I was leading the group, hacking through the undergrowth with my trusty knife when all of a sudden we heard a sound, barely perceptible, like a whiffling in the undergrowth. |
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And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! |
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And as in uffish thought we stood The mersey ones with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood And burbled as they came! |
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The whiffling of swords also occurs in the Balkan rusalia, a ritual dance for healing and fertility. |
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Typically, they are in circular formation, beginning with the leaders whirling and making whiffling sounds with their swords. |
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It also precedes several English hilt-and-point dances and possibly derives from ancient whiffling to clear the dance area of evil spirits. |
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A person of whiffling and unsteady turn of mind cannot keep close to a point of controversy. |
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