Squibs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Short satirical pieces, especially in a newspaper or magazine
2. brief written works that often convey humor or criticism
3. small explosives often used theatrically to create loud sounds or special effects

Etymology: "Squibs" is the plural of "squib," which first named a small firework that fizzes and then bangs. The noun's origin is probably imitative, meaning it was shaped to echo the sound of a small explosion, and the same sound-driven logic is why the word later came to describe a fuse-like device that burns before going off. The written sense arrived by way of that fizzing. A squib in the explosive sense was something that sputtered briefly before its bang, and by a figurative shift it came to mean a short, sharp piece of writing that goes off like a small charge, stinging a target with wit or censure. Such pieces are quick to read and quick to bite, which is why the plural now names a whole genre of brief, pointed pieces.

Synonyms: firecrackers, explosives