fiddle

fiddle
n. & v.
—n.
1 colloq. or derog. a stringed instrument played with a bow, esp. a violin.
2 colloq. an instance of cheating or fraud.
3 Naut. a contrivance for stopping things from rolling or sliding off a table in bad weather.
—v.
1 intr. a (often foll. by with, at) play restlessly. b (often foll. by about) move aimlessly. c act idly or frivolously. d (usu. foll. by with) make minor adjustments; tinker (esp. in an attempt to make improvements).
2 tr. sl. a cheat, swindle. b falsify. c get by cheating.
3 a intr. play the fiddle. b tr. play (a tune etc.) on the fiddle.
Phrases and idioms:
as fit as a fiddle in very good health. face as long as a fiddle a dismal face. fiddle-back a fiddle-shaped back of a chair or front of a chasuble. fiddle-head a scroll-like carving at a ship's bows. fiddle pattern the pattern of spoons and forks with fiddle-shaped handles. play second (or first) fiddle take a subordinate (or leading) role.
Etymology: OE fithele f. Gmc f. a Rmc root rel. to VIOL

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • fiddle — fid‧dle [ˈfɪdl] verb [transitive] informal to give false information about something in order to avoid paying money, or to get extra money: • It would be naive to think that staff never fiddle their expenses. • Auditors ensure that employers or… …   Financial and business terms

  • Fiddle — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El término Fiddle, hace referencia a cualquier instrumento musical de cuerda que se hace sonar con arco, lo que incluye al violín. Se trata de un término coloquial para aquellos instrumentos utilizados por músicos en …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fiddle — Fid dle (f[i^]d d l), n. [OE. fidele, fithele, AS. fi[eth]ele; akin to D. vedel, OHG. fidula, G. fiedel, Icel. fi[eth]la, and perh. to E. viol. Cf. {Viol}.] 1. (Mus.) A stringed instrument of music played with a bow; a violin; a kit. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fiddle — est un mot anglais qui signifie « violon », mais avec une connotation plus populaire que violin (qui est le terme anglais usuel pour désigner un violon, en particulier un violon de musique classique). Il s agit de l instrument de celui… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • fiddle — ► NOUN 1) informal a violin. 2) informal, chiefly Brit. an act of fraud or cheating. 3) informal an unnecessarily intricate or awkward task. ► VERB informal 1) touch or fidget with something restlessly or nervously. 2) chiefly Brit. falsify… …   English terms dictionary

  • fiddle — [fid′ l] n. [ME fithele < OE < VL * vitula < L vitulari, to rejoice: vi (< IE * woi , wi , outcry > OE wi, Gr ia) + ? base of tollere, to raise, exalt] 1. Informal any stringed instrument played with a bow, esp. the violin ☆ 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fiddle — Fid dle, v. t. To play (a tune) on a fiddle. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fiddle —   [englisch, fɪdl], Violine …   Universal-Lexikon

  • fiddle — англ. [фидл] Fidel, Fiedel нем. [фи/дэль] fidula лат. [фи/дула] фидель, старин. смычковый инструм …   Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов

  • fiddle — [v] mess with, tinker dabble, doodle, feel, fidget, finger, fool, handle, interfere, mess, mess around*, monkey*, play, potter, puddle, putter, tamper, touch, toy, trifle, twiddle; concepts 87,291 …   New thesaurus

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