Sentence:  The truth is, the members indulged in too flippant a tone of discussion. The papers read every Saturday evening were characterized less by depth than buffoonery. They were all whipped <WSD>syllabub</WSD>. There was no investigation of first causes, first principles. There was no investigation of anything at all. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Something lacking substance; something frothy, insubstantial, or lightweight.