- fiddling
-
adjective
Date: 1652
trifling, petty <a fiddling excuse>
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
fiddling — ► ADJECTIVE informal ▪ annoyingly trivial … English terms dictionary
fiddling — [fid liŋ] adj. trifling; useless; petty … English World dictionary
fiddling — [[t]fɪ̱dəlɪŋ[/t]] 1) N UNCOUNT Fiddling is the practice of getting money dishonestly by altering financial documents. [BRIT, INFORMAL] Salomon s fiddling is likely to bring big trouble for the firm. 2) N UNCOUNT Violin playing, especially in folk … English dictionary
Fiddling — 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… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
fiddling — 1. noun action of the verb to fiddle Fiddling the accounts is not legal. 2. adjective Of petty or trivial importance; footling It was a fiddling little faul … Wiktionary
fiddling — /fid ling/, adj. trifling; trivial: a fiddling sum of money. [1425 75; late ME; see FIDDLE, ING2] * * * … Universalium
fiddling — fid|dling [ˈfıdlıŋ] adj [only before noun] unimportant, and annoying ▪ fiddling little jobs around the house … Dictionary of contemporary English
fiddling — adjective (only before noun) unimportant, and annoying: all these fiddling little jobs around the house … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
fiddling — fid•dling [[t]ˈfɪd lɪŋ[/t]] adj. trifling; trivial: a fiddling sum[/ex] • Etymology: 1645–55 … From formal English to slang
fiddling while Rome burns — To say that someone is fiddling while Rome burns means that they are doing unimportant things while there are serious problems to be dealt with. His visit to the trade fair was fiddling while Rome burns according to the strikers … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions