argufies

"Nay, to no good purpose I know of," said the turnkey; "only it is the fashion to seem white and harmless -- a sort of token of not-guiltiness, as I may say, which folks desire to show the world, whether they be truly guilty or not; but I cannot say that guiltiness or not - guiltiness argufies much, saving they be words in the verdict."

Peveril of the Peak Walter Scott 1801

"What argufies so many words?" said the unfeeling Captain; "it is but a slit of the ear; it only looks as if you had been in the pillory."

Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady's Entrance Into the World 1778

“only it is the fashion to seem white and harmless — a sort of token of not-guiltiness, as I may say, which folks desire to show the world, whether they be truly guilty or not; but I cannot say that guiltiness or not-guiltiness argufies much, saving they be words in the verdict.”

Peveril of the Peak 1822

“What argufies that, my lad, when they wa’nt half full.

Three Weeks in the Downs, or Conjugal Fidelity Rewarded: exemplified in the Narrative of Helen and Edmund Anonymous 1829

"What argufies so many words?" said the unfeeling Captain; "it is but

Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World Fanny Burney 1796