fiddle

fiddle
[[t]fɪ̱d(ə)l[/t]]
fiddles, fiddling, fiddled
1) VERB If you fiddle with an object, you keep moving it or touching it with your fingers.

[V with n] Harriet fiddled with a pen on the desk.

2) VERB If you fiddle with something, you change it in minor ways.

[V with n] She told Whistler that his portrait of her was finished and to stop fiddling with it.

3) VERB If you fiddle with a machine, you adjust it.

[V with n] He turned on the radio and fiddled with the knob until he got a talk show.

4) VERB If someone fiddles financial documents, they alter them dishonestly so that they get money for themselves. [BRIT, INFORMAL]

[V n] He's been fiddling the books...

[V n] Stop fiddling your expenses account.

5) N-COUNT: oft supp N A fiddle is a dishonest action or scheme in which someone gets money for themselves. [BRIT, INFORMAL]

Police investigating a ₤10 million car insurance fiddle arrested 16 people yesterday.

...legitimate businesses that act as covers for tax fiddles.

Syn:
6) N-SING: a N If something is a fiddle, it is quite difficult to do because it involves small or complicated objects. [BRIT, INFORMAL]

I found out how to fix the tray on - a bit of a fiddle

7) N-VAR: oft the N Some people call violins fiddles, especially when they are used to play folk music.

Hardy as a young man played the fiddle at local dances.

Syn:
8) PHRASE: v-link PHR Someone who is as fit as a fiddle is very healthy and full of energy.

I'm as fit as a fiddle - with energy to spare.

9) PHRASE: v-link PHR If someone is on the fiddle, they get money by doing illegal or dishonest things. [BRIT, INFORMAL]
10) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone is fiddling while Rome burns, you mean that they are not dealing with a difficult or dangerous situation but instead are doing useless things or pretending that nothing is wrong.
11) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to n If you play second fiddle to someone, your position is less important than theirs in something that you are doing together.

She hated the thought of playing second fiddle to Rose.

Phrasal Verbs:

English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • fiddle — fid‧dle [ˈfɪdl] verb [transitive] informal to give false information about something in order to avoid paying money, or to get extra money: • It would be naive to think that staff never fiddle their expenses. • Auditors ensure that employers or… …   Financial and business terms

  • Fiddle — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El término Fiddle, hace referencia a cualquier instrumento musical de cuerda que se hace sonar con arco, lo que incluye al violín. Se trata de un término coloquial para aquellos instrumentos utilizados por músicos en …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fiddle — Fid dle (f[i^]d d l), n. [OE. fidele, fithele, AS. fi[eth]ele; akin to D. vedel, OHG. fidula, G. fiedel, Icel. fi[eth]la, and perh. to E. viol. Cf. {Viol}.] 1. (Mus.) A stringed instrument of music played with a bow; a violin; a kit. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fiddle — est un mot anglais qui signifie « violon », mais avec une connotation plus populaire que violin (qui est le terme anglais usuel pour désigner un violon, en particulier un violon de musique classique). Il s agit de l instrument de celui… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • fiddle — ► NOUN 1) informal a violin. 2) informal, chiefly Brit. an act of fraud or cheating. 3) informal an unnecessarily intricate or awkward task. ► VERB informal 1) touch or fidget with something restlessly or nervously. 2) chiefly Brit. falsify… …   English terms dictionary

  • fiddle — [fid′ l] n. [ME fithele < OE < VL * vitula < L vitulari, to rejoice: vi (< IE * woi , wi , outcry > OE wi, Gr ia) + ? base of tollere, to raise, exalt] 1. Informal any stringed instrument played with a bow, esp. the violin ☆ 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • Fiddle — Fid dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fiddled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fiddling}.] 1. To play on a fiddle. [1913 Webster] Themistocles . . . said he could not fiddle, but he could make a small town a great city. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. To keep the hands and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fiddle — Fid dle, v. t. To play (a tune) on a fiddle. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fiddle —   [englisch, fɪdl], Violine …   Universal-Lexikon

  • fiddle — англ. [фидл] Fidel, Fiedel нем. [фи/дэль] fidula лат. [фи/дула] фидель, старин. смычковый инструм …   Словарь иностранных музыкальных терминов

  • fiddle — [v] mess with, tinker dabble, doodle, feel, fidget, finger, fool, handle, interfere, mess, mess around*, monkey*, play, potter, puddle, putter, tamper, touch, toy, trifle, twiddle; concepts 87,291 …   New thesaurus

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