sniffle

A sniffle is the instinctive action of inhaling quickly in order to prevent mucus from flowing from one's nasal cavity, as an alternative to blowing the nose.

==Physiology== thumb|Illustration of the nasal cavity For a fraction of a second, the performer inhales strongly, pulling mucus from the outer part of the nasal cavity higher up, even into the sinus. This action is generally repeated every few seconds or minutes as the pulled mucus returns to the outer part of the nasal cavity, until the mucus stops returning (due to the mucus having drained into the throat, the nose having been blown to remove the mucus, or some other factor).