Fiddle

6 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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 fingers actively moving as a fiddler
        does; to move the hands and fingers restlessy or in busy
        idleness; to trifle.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers.
                                                    --Pepys.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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 Webster]
  
     2. (Bot.) A kind of dock ({Rumex pulcher}) with fiddle-shaped
        leaves; -- called also {fiddle dock}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Naut.) A rack or frame of bars connected by strings, to
        keep table furniture in place on the cabin table in bad
        weather. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Fiddle beetle} (Zool.), a Japanese carabid beetle ({Damaster
        blaptoides}); -- so called from the form of the body.
  
     {Fiddle block} (Naut.), a long tackle block having two
        sheaves of different diameters in the same plane, instead
        of side by side as in a common double block. --Knight.
  
     {Fiddle bow}, fiddlestick.
  
     {Fiddle fish} (Zool.), the angel fish.
  
     {Fiddle head}, See {fiddle head} in the vocabulary.
  
     {Fiddle pattern}, a form of the handles of spoons, forks,
        etc., somewhat like a violin.
  
     {Scotch fiddle}, the itch. (Low)
  
     {To play first fiddle}, or {To play second fiddle}, to take a
        leading or a subordinate part. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fiddle \Fid"dle\, v. t.
     To play (a tune) on a fiddle.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fiddle
       n : bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the
           violin family; this instrument has four strings and a
           hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played
           with a bow [syn: {violin}]
       v 1: avoid (one's assigned duties); "The derelict soldier shirked
            his duties" [syn: {shirk}, {shrink from}, {goldbrick}]
       2: commit fraud and steal from one's employer; "We found out
          that she had been fiddling for years"
       3: play the violin or fiddle
       4: play on a violin; "Zuckerman fiddled that song very nicely"
       5: manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination; "She
          played nervously with her wedding ring"; "Don't fiddle
          with the screws"; "He played with the idea of running for
          the Senate" [syn: {toy}, {diddle}, {play}]
       6: play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or
          dishonestly; "Someone tampered with the documents on my
          desk"; "The reporter fiddle with the facts" [syn: {tamper},
           {monkey}]
       7: try to fix or mend; "Can you tinker with the T.V. set--it's
          not working right"; "She always fiddles with her van on
          the weekend" [syn: {tinker}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  96 Moby Thesaurus words for "fiddle":
     A string, Amati, Cremona, D string, E string, G string, Strad,
     Stradivari, Stradivarius, alter, bass, bass viol, bow, bridge,
     bull fiddle, cello, cheat, contrabass, cook, coquet, crowd, dabble,
     dally, doodle, double bass, falsify, feel, fiddle with,
     fiddle-faddle, fiddlebow, fiddlestick, fidget, fidget with,
     finagle, finger with, fingerboard, fix, flimflam, flirt, fool,
     fool around, fool with, fraud, fribble, frivol, handle,
     horse around, idle, interfere with, jerk off, kid around, kit,
     kit fiddle, kit violin, loiter, meddle with, mess, mess around,
     monkey, monkey around, monkey business, piddle, play, play around,
     play violin, play with, potter, puddle, putter, racket, saw,
     scrape, scroll, skin game, smatter, soundboard, string, swindle,
     tamper with, tenor violin, thimblerig, tinker, touch, toy,
     toy with, trifle, tuning peg, twiddle, viol, viola, violin,
     violinette, violoncello, violoncello piccolo, violone, violotta
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  FIDDLE, n.  An instrument to tickle human ears by friction of a
  horse's tail on the entrails of a cat.
  
      To Rome said Nero:  "If to smoke you turn
      I shall not cease to fiddle while you burn."
      To Nero Rome replied:  "Pray do your worst,
      'Tis my excuse that you were fiddling first."
                                                              Orm Pludge