noodling

[nood-ling]

verb

1. present participle of noodle.

   I learned the hard way why noodling for catfish is considered dangerous.

noun

1. the act of catching fish, especially catfish, with only one’s bare hands.

   Some states have banned noodling, citing the dangers of the activity as well as concern over sustainability of the fish populations.

noodling

/ ˈnuːdlɪŋ /

noun

1. slang,  aimless musical improvisation

Word History and Origins

Origin of noodling¹

First recorded in 1935–40; noodl(e) ⁴ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

As he speaks, Wonder is noodling on the harpejji, the electric string instrument you’ve probably seen him play on TV on the Grammy Awards or “Dancing With the Stars.”

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“Tomorrow,” after intermission, contained 24 blissful minutes of bass, percussion, flute, guitar and vocal noodling over a recorded soundscape of environmental noise.

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As the mood shifts, a noodling electric guitar kicks in and the gang unconsciously assembles into poses that could be on a grunge album cover.

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While noodling on the piano, she says, “It kind of sounds like something.”

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In the beginning, Bleachers was a vehicle for the neo-New Wave noodling Antonoff would do by himself on his laptop; later, he convened a handful of musicians — including two sax players — and the band became known as a fist-pumping, sweat-spraying, Springsteen-channeling live act.

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