fiddle-faddle

[ fid-l-fad-l ]

/ ˈfɪd lˌfæd l /

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See synonyms for fiddle-faddle on Thesaurus.com

noun

nonsense.

something trivial.

verb (used without object), fid·dle-fad·dled, fid·dle-fad·dling.

to fuss with trifles.

interjection

(used to express irritation, impatience, etc.)

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Origin of fiddle-faddle

First recorded in 1570–80; gradational compound based on fiddle

OTHER WORDS FROM fiddle-faddle

fiddle-faddler, noun

Words nearby fiddle-faddle

fiddle, fiddleback, fiddleback spider, fiddle bow, fiddle-de-dee, fiddle-faddle, fiddle-footed, fiddlehead, fiddle pattern, fiddler, fiddler beetle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fiddle-faddle in a sentence

On Wall Street, Bank of America plays a perpetual second fiddle to JPMorgan Chase Co., the only U.S. bank that holds more assets.
Megabanks Have The Federal Prison System Locked Up|Center for Public Integrity|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"He looked at it and he started to fiddle with the cable," Mrs. Perez told The Telegraph.
Harry Dances With Chilean Children|Tom Sykes|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Willie Polk played the fiddle and another boy, call him Shoefus, played the guitar, like I did.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis|Stanley Booth|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His dad, an electrical engineer, was always bringing home technology that the young Sapan would fiddle with.
New York’s Hologram King Is Also the City’s Last Pro Holographer|Nina Strochlic|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

There the lingua franca is Cajun French, and folks love to fiddle, dance and most of all, eat.
The U.S. Road Trips You Should Really Take|Lonely Planet|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then he clapped his fiddle under his chin and without more ado struck up "Bobbing Joan."
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Their jurisdictions overlapped and the Gascon would play second fiddle to no one save to his great brother-in-law.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
A view of the duchess's ball-room, or of the dining-table of the earl, will supersede all occasion for lengthy fiddle-faddle.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Fiddle-cases seem to have been used almost solely for travelling purposes.
Antonio Stradivari|Horace William Petherick
Then you'll concide that you are there but you oughtn't to be, and kind of slide out without your hat and forget your fiddle.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd

British Dictionary definitions for fiddle-faddle

fiddle-faddle

/ (ˈfɪdəlˌfædəl) /

noun, interjection

trivial matter; nonsense

verb

(intr) to fuss or waste time, esp over trivial matters

Derived forms of fiddle-faddle

fiddle-faddler, noun

Word Origin for fiddle-faddle

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

fiddle-faddle

Origin of fiddle-faddle

OTHER WORDS FROM fiddle-faddle

Words nearby fiddle-faddle

Words related to fiddle-faddle

How to use fiddle-faddle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fiddle-faddle

Derived forms of fiddle-faddle

Word Origin for fiddle-faddle