Fiddling

Fiddling
Fiddle Fid"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fiddled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fiddling}.] 1. To play on a fiddle. [1913 Webster]

Themistocles . . . said he could not fiddle, but he could make a small town a great city. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

2. To keep the hands and fingers actively moving as a fiddler does; to move the hands and fingers restlessy or in busy idleness; to trifle. [1913 Webster]

Talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers. --Pepys. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • fiddling — ► ADJECTIVE informal ▪ annoyingly trivial …   English terms dictionary

  • fiddling — [fid liŋ] adj. trifling; useless; petty …   English World dictionary

  • fiddling — [[t]fɪ̱dəlɪŋ[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT Fiddling is the practice of getting money dishonestly by altering financial documents. [BRIT, INFORMAL] Salomon s fiddling is likely to bring big trouble for the firm. 2) N UNCOUNT Violin playing, especially in folk …   English dictionary

  • fiddling — 1. noun action of the verb to fiddle Fiddling the accounts is not legal. 2. adjective Of petty or trivial importance; footling It was a fiddling little faul …   Wiktionary

  • fiddling — adjective Date: 1652 trifling, petty < a fiddling excuse > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • fiddling — /fid ling/, adj. trifling; trivial: a fiddling sum of money. [1425 75; late ME; see FIDDLE, ING2] * * * …   Universalium

  • fiddling — fid|dling [ˈfıdlıŋ] adj [only before noun] unimportant, and annoying ▪ fiddling little jobs around the house …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • fiddling — adjective (only before noun) unimportant, and annoying: all these fiddling little jobs around the house …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • fiddling — fid•dling [[t]ˈfɪd lɪŋ[/t]] adj. trifling; trivial: a fiddling sum[/ex] • Etymology: 1645–55 …   From formal English to slang

  • fiddling while Rome burns —    To say that someone is fiddling while Rome burns means that they are doing unimportant things while there are serious problems to be dealt with.     His visit to the trade fair was fiddling while Rome burns according to the strikers …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

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