A European colleague, who spoke at least three languages and understood more, harbored a keen interest in mastering English idioms.  Whenever he visited, he would solicit a new one, and  particularly enjoyed “shooting the breeze.”  He would strive to use his new found idiom in a conversation to better remember it.  Later, I observed him speaking to a colleague and asked what they were talking about.  He replied:  Oh, nothing, we’re just “puffing the wind” — close, but no cigar!  But, how far off was he?  

Definition of “Wind:  “The perceptive natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction.  dictionary.com.  We all know wind when we feel, hear or see the result of it, but wind comes packaged in different forms.  Consider the following dictionary definitions that characterize some different kinds of wind:

Wisp:  a thin puff . . . as of smoke. 

Waft:  a light or gentle movement of air.

Whiff:  a puff or breath of air

Whoosh:  a sudden movement accompanied by a rushing sound.

Puff:  a short explosive burst of breath or wind.

Poof:  used to express a sudden disappearance.

Breeze:  a gentle wind

Gust:  a brief, strong rush of wind.

Gale:  a very strong wind

Upon hearing the word “wind,” one may think more of breezes than mere breaths. “Wisp,” suggests a barely perceptible movement of air, as in a “puff of wind” described by my colleague.  When someone “breaks wind,” however, no body would refer to it as a “wisp” of air, but perhaps as a “gust,” or a “whiff,” of foul air.  In terms of degree, little difference appears among “wisp,” “waft,” “whiff,” or “puff,” as they all have the sense of a brief breath of air.  “Poof,” “Whoosh,” “gust” or “gale” adds a bit more movement to the wind.  

We all know someone who openly, or secretly, was known as “Windy,” which meant that they spoke not in wisps, wafts, or whiffs, but breezy gusts without interruption, seemingly without taking any breaths.

The term wind becomes more complicated when one recognizes it as a homograph:  “each of two or more words spelled the same but not necessarily pronounced the same and having different meanings.” (dictionary.com.)    

Enough said about wind; its time to wind down.