What is "squib"

Squib \Squib\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squibbed (skw[i^]bd); p. pr. & vb. n. Squibbing.] To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little in debate.

Squib \Squib\ (skw[i^]b), n. [OE. squippen, swippen, to move swiftly, Icel. svipa to swoop, flash, dart, whip; akin to AS. swipian to whip, and E. swift, a. See Swift, a.]

1. 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.

   Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze.
   --Waller.

   The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . . . is punishable.
   --Blackstone.

2. (Mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.

3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay.

   Who copied his squibs, and re["e]choed his jokes.
   --Goldsmith.

4. A writer of lampoons. [Obs.]

   The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers.
   --Tatler.

5. A paltry fellow. [Obs.]
   --Spenser.

1520s, "short bit of sarcastic writing, witty scoff," of unknown origin. If the meaning "small firework that burns with a hissing noise" (also 1520s) is the original one, the word might be imitative.

n. 1 (context military English) A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode. 2 A similar device used to ignite an explosive or launch a rocket, etc. 3 (context mining English) A kind of slow match or safety fuse. 4 (context US English) 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. 5 (context automotive English) The heating element used to set off the sodium azide pellets in a vehicle's airbag. 6 (context cinema or theater special effects English) A small explosive used to replicate a bullet hitting a surface. 7 (context dated English) A short piece of witty writing; a lampoon. 8 (context dated English) A writer of lampoons. 9 (context legal English) In a legal casebook, a short summary of a legal action placed between more extensively quoted cases. 10 (context academia English) A short article, often published in journals, that introduces theoretically problematic empirical data or discusses an overlooked theoretical problem. In contrast to a typical article, a squib need not answer the questions that it poses. 11 (context archaic English) An unimportant, paltry, or mean-spirited person. 12 (context slang English) A sketched concept or visual solution, usually very quick and not too detailed. A word most commonly used within the Graphic Design industry. vb. 1 To make a sound such as a small explosion. 2 (context colloquial dated English) To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute.

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

2. [also: squibbing, squibbed]

Squib or Squibb may refer to:

• Squib (explosive)
• Squib (Harry Potter)
• Squib (Star Wars)
• Squib (weblog)
• Squib (writing)
• Squib (sketched concept or visual solution)
• Squib, Kentucky
• Squib kick, a football play
• Squib load, a firearm malfunction
• Squib sailboat
• Squibs (1921 film), a 1921 film starring Betty Balfour
• Squibs (1935 film), a 1935 remake film also starring Balfour
• Squib, a tentacle monster from the webshow Baman Piderman

A squib is a miniature explosive device used in a wide range of industries, from special effects to military applications. It resembles a tiny stick of dynamite, both in appearance and construction, although with considerably less explosive power. Squibs consist of two electrical leads which are separated by a plug of insulating material, a small bridge wire or electrical resistance heater, and a bead of heat-sensitive chemical composition in which the bridge wire is embedded. Squibs can be used for generating mechanical force, or to provide pyrotechnic effects for both film and live theatrics. Squibs can be used for shattering or propelling a variety of materials.

A squib generally consists of a small tube filled with an explosive substance, with a detonator running through the length of its core, similar to a stick of dynamite. Also similar to dynamite, the detonator can be a slow-burning fuse, or as is more common today, a wire connected to a remote electronic trigger. Squibs range in size, anywhere from .08" up to 6/10" (~2 to 15 millimeters) in diameter.

In the North American film industry, the term squib is often used to refer variously to: electric matches and detonators (used as initiators to trigger larger pyrotechnics). Squibs are generally (but not always) the main explosive element in an effect, and as such are regularly used as “bullet hits”. Conventional squibs fire once, with the exception of eSquibs, which fire 200 or more times before depletion.

A squib is a brief satirical or witty piece of writing or speech, like a lampoon, or a short, sometimes humorous piece in a newspaper or magazine, used as a filler. It can be intended to ignite thinking and discourse by others on topics of theoretical importance—e.g., see MIT Press's journal, Linguistic Inquiry, but is often less substantial than this and just humorous (see The Daily Squib).

In linguistics, squibs may outline anomalous data but not suggest a solution. This usage in the field was popularized by John R. “Haj” Ross in the 1960s. A squib may also develop a minor theoretical argument. A particularly interesting variety of squibs are the so-called snippets, which are "the ideal footnote: a side remark that taken on its own is not worth lengthy development but that needs to be said". The online journal Snippets is dedicated to this type of squib.

The term squib is sometimes used to describe a quick drawing of a visual composition or a proposed graphic solution. A rough sketch to demonstrate an idea. The origin of the term, "squib" as it relates to a sketched concept or idea is currently unknown, but has been adopted as industry slang by creative directors, art directors and designers in the creative advertising and marketing communications industries in Western Canada. Other regions/countries may employ different slang terms to describe the same object (sketch, drawing, comp, linear).

Another common use employs "squib" as an active verb ("let me squib something to show you what I mean").

First heard use: Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Circa 1987