fiddlestick

[fid-l-stik]

noun

anything; a bit: I don't care a fiddlestick for what they say.

Origin of fiddlestick

First recorded in 1400–50, fiddlestick is from the late Middle English word fidillstyk. See fiddle, stick¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fiddlestick

Historical Examples of fiddlestick

Truly the "fiddlestick" is a magic wand in more senses than one.
The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use
Henry Saint-George
If you've all the tense strings you may take life for your fiddlestick.
The Tragic Muse
Henry James
Didn't she, rather, do you the honor to say, 'A fiddlestick for your phrases!
The American
Henry James
"Should be a fiddlestick, my dear," the old Colonel answered.
The Virginians
William Makepeace Thackeray
And though I lend you my very rod and tacklings, yet you have not my fiddlestick, that is, the skill wherewith I guide it.
The World's Greatest Books -- Vol XX -- Miscellaneous Literature and Index
Various

British Dictionary definitions for fiddlestick

fiddlestick

noun

informal a violin bow
any meaningless or inconsequential thing; trifle
fiddlesticks! an expression of annoyance or disagreement

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 fiddlestick

usually fiddlesticks; 15c., originally "the bow of a fiddle," from fiddle (n.) and stick (n.). Meaning "nonsense" is from 1620s.