fiddler
Americannoun
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a person who plays the fiddle, esp in folk music
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See fiddler crab
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a person who wastes time or acts aimlessly
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informal a cheat or petty rogue
Etymology
Origin of fiddler
before 1100; Middle English, Old English fithelere; cognate with Dutch vedelaar, German Fiedler. See fiddle, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She joined a list which has included amongst others the 2022 winner fiddler Eryn Rae, pianist Michael Biggins, piper Ali Levack, fiddler Benedict Morris and singer Hannah Rarity.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2024
The late fiddler was one of the few musicians Bomar knew who held on to decades of archival material.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2024
"Without our traditions," the musical's protagonist Tevye says at the end of the song, "Our lives would be as shaky as . . . as a fiddler on the roof!"
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2023
In the late 1980s, Mr. McReynolds toured and recorded with the Masters, a bluegrass supergroup that included the fiddler Kenny Baker, the dobro player Josh Graves and the banjo player and guitarist Eddie Adcock.
From New York Times • Jun. 25, 2023
I skirted along the grassy bank, watching the water bubble between the stalks of grass, a sure sign that the fiddler crabs were scrabbling around just out of sight.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
