From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
[Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
[1913 Webster]
Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze.
--Waller.
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The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . .
. is punishable. --Blackstone.
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2. (Mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.
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3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a
brief, witty essay.
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Who copied his squibs, and reechoed his jokes.
--Goldsmith.
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4. A writer of lampoons. [Obs.]
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The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the
world are called libelers, lampooners, and
pamphleteers. --Tatler.
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5. A paltry fellow. [Obs.] --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
squib
n 1: firework consisting of a tube filled with powder (as a
broken firecracker) that burns with a fizzing noise
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