What is "frittering"

Usage examples of "frittering".

What he found were days of increasing pain as the scouts spread farther and farther through uninhabited wilderness without locating the slightest sign that anyone had been that way before, until he knew he had to retrace his path, frittering away more days to cover ground the Asha’.

He was not proud to be talking like this to an attractive young woman who was the executive secretary of his committee, and he knew the poor impression he must be making, but in recent weeks he had grown quite desperate-he overworking in Washington, his wife frittering away her life back home-and he needed help.

I've no intention of frittering away my strength on that sort of thing.

The Admiralty ought to stop frittering away detachments in every hole-in-the-wall system and concentrate larger forces in nodal positions responsible for covering several systems each.

Only veterans, and select veterans at that, got to handle Panthers: no point in frittering away the important new weapon by giving it to men who couldn’.

Romance is good for frittering away a few evening hours, but commissions will get you a vacation in Hawaii.

He knew that even in his own mountains victory over the invaders might well be a narrow, chancy business, and so he husbanded his fighters, seeing clearly that utter folly of frittering away irreplaceable strength in pointless harassment.

I would scold you for frittering away what I have taught you in parlor tricks for fat men who stand in guard boxes.

Yet instead of profiting by your unusual opportunities, you have, by your own admission, been, shall we say, frittering away your time in the childish pursuit of old wives' tales and silly superstitions.

Sitting in front of Rising Rock frittering away the time does King Geoffrey's cause no good.

Clearly I have not yet discovered a means to defend ourselves against this frittering away of our time which is nevertheless extremely necessary.

She had wanted to go immediately, but had not felt free to desert her mother right after Pace's death, and then there had been requests for her music locally, and one thing led to another, the time frittering away.

They have been still more disfigured by the corruptions of schismatising followers, who have found an interest in sophisticating & perverting the simple doctrines he taught by engrafting on them the mysticisms of a Grecian sophist, frittering them into subtleties, & obscuring them with jargon, until they have caused good men to reject the whole in disgust, & to view Jesus himself as an impostor.