fiddle-faddle
[fid-l-fad-l]
- nonsense.
- something trivial.
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- to fuss with trifles.
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- (used to express irritation, impatience, etc.)
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Origin of fiddle-faddle
First recorded in 1570–80; gradational compound based on fiddle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fiddle-faddle
Historical Examples
Well might the merit of your passion be doubted, you say, if, like Mr. Solmes—fiddle-faddle!
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
Dost thou think I will fiddle-faddle about myself like a woman?
An Orkney MaidAmelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Is she crying out her eyes over that piece of fiddle-faddle?
The Maidens' LodgeEmily Sarah Holt
There's a lot of "fiddle-faddle" wrapped up in that word "inspiration."
The Fiction FactoryJohn Milton Edwards
He said one day to me, "Why don't you give up your fiddle-faddle of geology and zoology, and turn to the occult sciences?"
fiddle-faddle
- trivial matter; nonsense
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- (intr) to fuss or waste time, esp over trivial matters
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Word Origin
C16: reduplication of fiddle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for fiddle-faddle
1570s (n.); 1630s (v.), apparently a reduplication of obsolete faddle "to trifle."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper