First Known Use: 13th century
Dictionary
1fiddle
noun fid·dle \ˈfi-dəl\
: a dishonest way of getting money
Full Definition of FIDDLE
1
: violin
2
: a device (as a slat, rack, or light railing) to keep objects from sliding off a table aboard ship
3
: fiddlesticks —used as an interjection
4
[2fiddle] chiefly British : swindle
See fiddle defined for English-language learners
See fiddle defined for kids
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Origin of FIDDLE
Middle English fidel, from Old English *fithele, probably from Medieval Latin vitula
Related to FIDDLE
- Synonyms
- applesauce [slang], balderdash, baloney (also boloney), beans, bilge, blah (also blah-blah), blarney, blather, blatherskite, blither, bosh, bull [slang], bunk, bunkum (or buncombe), claptrap, codswallop [British], crapola [slang], crock, drivel, drool, nonsense, fiddle-faddle, fiddlesticks, flannel [British], flapdoodle, folderol (also falderal), folly, foolishness, fudge, garbage, guff, hogwash, hokeypokey, hokum, hoodoo, hooey, horsefeathers [slang], humbug, humbuggery, jazz, malarkey (also malarky), moonshine, muck, nerts [slang], nuts, piffle, poppycock, punk, rot, rubbish, senselessness, silliness, slush, stupidity, taradiddle (or tarradiddle), tommyrot, tosh, trash, trumpery, twaddle
Other Music Terms
2fiddle
verb
: to play a violin
: to secretly change (something, such as information) in a harmful or dishonest way
fid·dledfid·dling \ˈfid-liŋ, ˈfi-dəl-iŋ\
Full Definition of FIDDLE
intransitive verb
1
: to play on a fiddle
2
transitive verb
1
: to play (as a tune) on a fiddle
3
: to alter or manipulate deceptively for fraudulent gain <accountants fiddling the books — Stanley Cohen>
— fid·dler \ˈfid-lər, ˈfi-dəl-ər\ noun
See fiddle defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of FIDDLE
14th century
Related to FIDDLE
FIDDLE Defined for Kids
1fiddle
noun fid·dle \ˈfi-dəl\
Definition of FIDDLE for Kids
: violin
2fiddle
verb
fid·dledfid·dling
Definition of FIDDLE for Kids
1
: to play on a fiddle
2
: to move the hands or fingers restlessly <She kept fiddling with her ring.>
3
: to spend time in aimless activity <They fiddled around and accomplished nothing.>
4
: to change or handle in a useless way <He fiddled with the controls.>
5
: to handle in a harmful or foolish way : tamper <Someone has been fiddling with the lock.>
— fid·dler \ˈfid-lər\ noun
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