simper out

simper out

English

Etymology

From simper.

Verb

simper out (third-person singular simple present simpers out, present participle simpering out, simple past and past participle simpered out)

1. (transitive) To speak with a simper.
   • 1843, Jenkins, Punch, Volume 5, page 56

     Every time he twirls about, we simper out, 'C'est beau!'

   • 1851, W.H.G. Kingston, The Pirate of the Mediterranean: A Tale of the Sea

     I hate your honey-mouthed, easy-going skippers, who simper out, 'Please, my good men, have the goodness to brace round the foreyard when the ship's taken aback.' No, no—give me a man who knows how to command men.

   • 2017, Jacob Oller, 'It' Trailer Moments That Need a Closer Look, Hollywood Reporter

     Bill Skarsgard finally gets to creak and simper out his first line as It: “Here, take it.”

2. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (intransitive) To trail off, to peter out.
   • 2019, Jeremy Caldeira, A River of Joy and Trouble: Bordeaux

     These issues could explode into something violent, or could simper out.