Rifle you will know: the word is the same in Spanish (rifle, fusil). It is a long barrelled gun. However, there are other uses.
If a mortal “rifles through” something, the person is looking or searching for something, perhaps with a sense of frustration. Mortals sometimes “rifle through” (…hojear…) a book.
Some examples:
- Mr. Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, rifled through (…revolvió entre…) his briefcase, looking for his speech.
- Mrs. Biden, the wife of the USA President, was rifling through (…estaba revolviendo en su bolso…) her handbag looking for the keys for her Ferrari.
- The policemen rifled Mr. Trumps house (…saquearon la casa en buscar…) in search of some documents.
- Mr. Boris Johnson, the former British Prime Minister, rifled (…hojeó…) through the Spanish newspapers while in a café in Madrid.
So, perhaps you have a rifle, have rifled through the British newspapers on some occasions and your house has been rifled by the government. Who knows?
