The Top 100 Things that Amuse me Mildly: #99- the word 'dabble'

The word 'dabble' is perhaps the most ubiquitous member of my daily verbal lexicon. Now, this is primarily because it is actually a very vague word. To dabble, as defined by webster-merriam dictionary entails the following: 

Main Entry:

dab·ble 

Pronunciation:

\ˈda-bəl\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

dab·bled; dab·bling  \-b(ə-)liŋ\

Etymology:

perhaps frequentative of ²dab

Date:

1557

intransitive verb1 a: to paddle, splash, or play in or as if in water b: to reach with the bill to the bottom of shallow water in order to obtain food2: to work or involve oneself superficially or intermittently especially in a secondary activity or interest <dabbles in art>

Now, lets look at definition number 1 which describes some sort of water play. The part that gets me is to play as if in water. I am pretty sure that there are many activities that people engage in on dry land that mirror movements that very well happen in water as well. For instance, I might use the inflected forms dabble to solicit information from one of my girlfriends about her late night activities:

example: Me: "who were you dabbling with last night? It sure sounded like a lot of fun."

               Friend: "Yeah, it was a good dabble. I have never dabbled so much in my life- wow i am sore!"

Notice here that, again, verb usage is vague- dabble could still be referring to multiple activities, like yoga, chess, twister, or even late night swimming. What did you think i was referring to? Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. 

Notice also that dabble is more than merely an intransitive verb. It can be used in its inflected forms and can also transform into a noun. Dabble as a noun can also shift into "dabbler" as it can easily be used to refer to a person. 

Definition #2, refers to superficial involvement in a secondary interest or activity. For many people, this means going to work. So, instead of saying, "i am working until 6" most should say "I am dabbling at the office until 6". For most Americans, work gets in the way of more important things like: checking your personal email every 5 minutes, g chatting your college roommates who live across the country, flir-texting with the guy you met at the bar last weekend, going to the gym, online shopping and sleeping. Think about how much more of these things you could get done everyday if you did not have to go dabble at the office everyday. 

I feel like definition #2 could also be used when describing  relationships. I feel like it would take a lot of pressure off of both parties involved if it were as easy as "oh yeah, I am dabbling with this guy. Eh, we've been dabbling for a few months, no big deal." Given that this is such a casual term, I feel like there would be much less drama once those two parties are no longer engaged in regular dabble. Instead of using such stigmatized rhetoric as "omg, he dumped me" or "we broke up", which are such violent words to begin with, it would be much more casual just to say "we're not really dabbling anymore".  I think this change in common rhetoric would certainly result in less wrath between exs and naturally less keyed driver doors, baseball bats busting windows, and drunken, rage filled phone calls/texts/ notes in car doors. This is also a valuable word to use when you don't want to admit you are dating someone. It helps maintain your sense of dignity. 

Clearly, these are only a few ways that dabble is a crucial word in modern diction and, in my opinion, should be used more often. It's true, more dabbling will make for a better world.