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Pronunciation: pêr-sê-flahzh
Noun meaning: Gently teasing banter, light-hearted mildly ironic chit-chat on the level of pulling someone's leg.
Someone who indulges or excels at persiflage is a persifleur.
Etymology: This week's word is the noun from the French verb persifler "to banter", made up of per- (intensifier) + siffler, "to whistle". Siffler is the descendant of Latin sibilare "to whistle, hiss".
Thought: Great men and women are known for their great persiflage. Bernard Shaw once wrote Sir Winston Churchill, "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play. Bring a friend . . . if you have one." Sir Winston maintained the persiflage with: "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second . . . if there is one."