Dictionary entry

Soldier (2)

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Sol″dier, v. i. 1. To serve as a soldier.

2. To make a pretense of doing something, or of performing any task.

☞ In this sense the vulgar pronounciation (sō″jẽr) is jocosely preserved.

It needs an opera glass to discover whether the leaders are pulling, or only soldiering. C. D. Warner.