peddle

Etymology

Back-formation from pedlar. (Compare burgle from burglar.)

verb

1. To sell things, especially door to door or in insignificant quantities.
   My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 3, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. To sell illegal narcotics.
   - How much you think this stuff is worth? - Yeah, there must be a million bucks' worth. - Think we could peddle it? 1974, 42:19 from the start, in Gone in 60 Seconds
3. (derogatory, figurative) To spread or cause to spread.
   Christine walked a dangerous line, peddling gossip about her detested son-in-law. 2009, Michael John Beashel, Unshackled, page 166
   Roberts was a drug dealer, nicknamed 'King Krud', who peddled death and misery. 2012, Niamh O'Connor, Taken, page 166
   Yes, there were instances of grandstanding and obsessive behaviour, but many were concealed at the time to help protect an aggressively peddled narrative of [Oscar] Pistorius the paragon, the emblem, the trailblazer. 21 October 2014, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years – sport afforded no protection against his tragic fallibilities: Bladerunner's punishment for killing Reeva Steenkamp is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry [print version: No room for sentimentality in this tragedy, 13 September 2014, p. S22]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport)
   As for the IRP, Secretary of State Grant Shapps continues to peddle snake oil, smoke and mirrors. His reaction to near-universal IRP condemnation from politicians, local and national media, and all but a few rail specialists was to dismiss the lot of us (in the condescending and patronising tone we have now come to expect) as "critics and naysayers". January 12 2022, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3