fiddle

[US]/'fɪd(ə)l/
[UK]/'fɪdl/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

n. a musical instrument with four strings, played with a bow
vi. to spend time in aimless activity or to meddle in a trivial way
vt. to play (a tune) on the fiddle

Phrases & Collocations

fiddle with

fiddle around

fiddle music

fiddle player

fiddle solo

second fiddle

play second fiddle

Example Sentences

She plays the fiddle well.

He fiddled the company's accounts.

liked to fiddle with all the knobs and dials.

a reporter who fiddled with the facts.

fiddled away the morning with unnecessary tasks.

Lena fiddled with her cup.

you haven't time to fiddle-faddle about like that.

I felt as fit as a fiddle after a hot bath.

she had to play second fiddle to the interests of her husband.

She wants to be the boss, not play second fiddle to somebody else.

He was on the fiddle for years and his boss never suspected a thing.

fantastic talk;baseless gossip;fiddle-faddle;shear nonsense;

That sounds like fiddle-faddle double-talk, but I don't know any less recursive way to say it.

The four modes that we meet up with both in Anglo-American folk song and fiddle tunes are the Ionian (major scale), Mixolydian, Dorian, and Aeolian (natural minor scale).

Real-world Examples

I always played second fiddle to him.

Source: The Moon and Sixpence (Condensed Version)

Little Pig took the fiddle and began to play.

Source: American Elementary English 2

Others gossiped or fiddled with their mobile phones.

Source: The Economist - International

He can't stop fiddling with the controls.

Source: American English dialogue

I'm afraid Mrs Crawley is not too pleased to play second fiddle, sir.

Source: Downton Abbey (Audio Segmented Version) Season 2

In addition to lights, stores can also fiddle with what you hear while you're shopping.

Source: Daily English Listening | Bilingual Intensive Reading

There's Albert Yorke playing guitar John Lusk playing the fiddle and Murph Gribble playing the banjo.

Source: Vox opinion

You got to fiddle with the switch, but it works.

Source: Our Day Season 2

I don't actually play fiddle that much.

Source: The yearned rural life

After all, the boy had that car he was always fiddling with, she said.

Source: A man named Ove decides to die.

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