▪ I. fiddle, n.
(ˈfɪd(ə)l)
Forms: 3–4 fið-, fiþ-, fithel(e, (4 fithul, south. viþele), 4–5 fythel(e, (5 fythal, -il, -ylle), 4–6 fidel(e, (5 fed-, fidylle, 6 fiddel), 5–6 fydel, (5 -ill, -yll, 6 -delle, -dylle), 6– fiddle.
[ME. fiþele, OE. *fiðele wk. fem. (implied in deriv. fiðelere) = MDu. vedel(e (Du. vedel, veel), OHG. fidula (MHG. videle, Ger. fiedel), ON. fiþla (Da. fiddel).
The ultimate origin is obscure. The Teut. word bears a singular resemblance in sound to its med.L. synonym vitula, vidula, whence OF. viole, Pr. viula, and (by adoption from these langs.) It., Sp., Pg. viola: see viol. The supposition that the early Rom. vidula was adopted independently in more than one Teut. lang. would account adequately for all the Teut. forms; on the other hand, *fiþulôn- may be an OTeut. word of native etymology, though no satisfactory Teut. derivation has been found.]
1. a. A stringed instrument of music; usually, the violin, but also (with defining word as in bass fiddle) applied to other instruments of the viol kind. Now only in familiar or contemptuous use.
| c 1205 Lay. 7002 Of harpe & of salteriun of fiðele & of coriun. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. ix. 102 Wolde neuere þe faithful fader his fithel were ontempred. c 1450 Holland Howlat 761 The lilt pype, and the lute, the fydill in fist. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. xviii. 6 With tymbrels, with myrth, and with fyddels. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet E iij b, I must tune my fiddle, and fetch some more rozen. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 158 Till all you built appear'd Like that, Amphion with his Fiddle rear'd. 1740 Somerville Hobbinol i. 323 Shrill Fiddles squeak Hoarse Bag-pipes roar. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes I. 22 Engaged in London in giving private lessons on the fiddle. 1870 H. Smart Race for Wife i, The dear old country fiddles are playing..dance-music. |
b. In colloquial phrases:
as fine as a fiddle = as fit as a fiddle.
as fit as a fiddle: in good ‘form’ or condition.
to hang up one's fiddle: to retire from business, give up an undertaking.
to hang up one's fiddle when one comes home: said of persons who are entertaining abroad but not in their family circle.
to play first (or second) fiddle: to take a leading (or subordinate) position.
to play third fiddle, to be the third party.
to have one's face made of a fiddle: to be irresistibly charming.
to have a face as long as a fiddle: to look dismal.
| 1603 Dekker tr. La Sale's Batchelars Banquet iii, Then comes downe mistresse Nurse as fine as a farthing fiddle, in her petticoate and kertle. 1616 W. Haughton English-men for my Money sig. G1v, This is excellent ynfayth, as fit as a fiddle. Ibid. sig. K3v, This is excellent, this is as fine as a Fiddle. 1647 Beaumont & Fletcher Women Pleased iv. iii, Bart. Am I come fit Penurio? Pen. As fit as a fiddle. 1762 Smollett Sir L. Greaves (1780) I. viii. 84 Your honour's face is made of a fiddle; every one that looks on you loves you. 1778 Learning at Loss II. 79 Our Friends..returned, with Jack Solecism the first Fiddle as usual. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. Lesage's Gil Blas (1866) x. xi. 378, I am quite at your service to play second fiddle in all your laudable enterprises. 1811 Massachusetts Spy 20 Mar. 4/1 But pleasures are brittle as glass, Although as a fiddle they're fine. 1815 D. Humphreys Yankey in Eng. 37, I am as fine as a fiddle. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxvii, How could I help it? His face was made of a fiddle. 1822 O'Meara Napoleon in Exile I. 227 He was of opinion that Prussia should never play the first fiddle in the affairs of the Continent. 1827 J. K. Paulding St. Nicholas (1836) 78 Pleasure sleighs, which, at that period it was the fashion among farmers to have as fine as fiddles. 1833 S. Smith Life & Writings J. Downing 90 (Weingarten), You'll have to hang up your fiddle till another year. 1836 W. Dunlap Mem. Water Drinker II. 6 He does not hang his fiddle up behind the street-door when he comes home. 1862 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe III. ix. 140 It was evident that..he had been playing..second fiddle. 1862 Dialect of Leeds 407 As fine as a fiddle. 1866 ‘Mark Twain’ Lett. Sandwich Islands 9 America..is out in the cold now, and does not even play third fiddle to this European element. 1870 Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories (1871) 185 Wal, you see, from the time that Bill Elderkin come and took the academy, I could see plain enough that it was time for me to hang up my fiddle. 1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal III. xi. 253 ‘Is Salathiel pretty fresh?’ asked the Baron. ‘Fit as a fiddle’. 1889 D. Hannay Capt. Marryat ix, He did not entirely hang his fiddle up when he came home. 1889 H. O'Reilly 50 Years on Trail 11, I arrived at my destination feeling as fit as a fiddle. 1889 ‘E. Lyall’ Derrick Vaughan ii, I took care to drop behind, having no taste for the third-fiddle business. 1931 ‘L. Thayer’ Last Shot iv. 40 There you are, Stanley. Looking as fine as a fiddle. |
2. Applied to the player.
a. = fiddler.
the fiddles: the band of fiddlers.
| 1676 Marvell Mr. Smirke 71 Envy began to dance among the Bishops first, the good Constantine brought them the Fiddles. 1773 Brydone Sicily i. (1809) 7 Barbella, the sweetest fiddle in Italy, leads our little band. |
b. transf. One to whose music others dance; hence, a mirth-maker, jester.
| 1600 Breton Pasquil's Madcappe 64 Wks. (Grosart) 9 He may be but a foole, and she a fiddle. 1693 Locke Thoughts conc. Educ. §165. 208 You would not have your Son the Fiddle to every jovial Company. 1728 Pope Dunc. i. 224 At once the Bear and Fiddle of the town. 1739 Cibber Apol. (1756) I. 13 His easy humour, whenever he is called to it [company], can still make himself the fiddle of it. 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend v, He was..the fiddle of the ship's company. |
3. Something resembling a fiddle in shape or appearance:
a. Naut. (See
quot. 1867);
b. Agric. (See
quot. 1874);
c. Gunmaking. (See
quot. 1881).
| 1865 Daily Tel. 21 Aug. 5/2 A heavy sea, which..caused the production of ‘fiddles’ on the saloon tables at lunch time. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Fiddle, a contrivance to prevent things from rolling off the table in bad weather. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Fiddle..a wooden bar about 11 feet long, attached by ropes at its ends to the traces of a horse, and used to drag loose straw or hay on the ground, [etc.]. 1881 Greener Gun 248 The value of a stock is greatly enhanced by a species of cross pattern, or ‘fiddle’. |
4. In various slang uses:
a. (See
quot. 1700).
b. A watchman's rattle.
c. Scotch († Welsh) fiddle, the itch.
d. Stock-exchange: the sixteenth part of a pound.
e. A sixpence (Farmer).
f. A swindle.
orig. U.S.| a. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Fiddle, a Writ to Arrest. 1785 in Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue. |
| b. 1823 W. T. Moncrieff Tom & Jerry ii. ii, Log. There's the Charlies' fiddles going. Jerry. Charlies' fiddles?—I'm not fly, Doctor. Log. Rattles, Jerry, rattles! |
| c. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Welsh-fiddle, the Itch. 1826 J. Randolph Let. 20 Feb. in Life J. Quincy 421, I have not catched the literary ‘Scotch fiddle’. |
| d. 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II. 138 To do business with me at a fiddle. 1887 G. D. Atkin House Scraps 15 Done at a fiddle. |
| f. 1874 Hotten Slang Dict., Fiddle... In America, a swindle or an imposture. 1947 People 22 June 4/2 Says Bevin: ‘I want peace..and we shan't get it unless we deal with one another as friends. I will be a party to no fiddles.’ 1958 G. Mitchell Spotted Hemlock xi. 117 Tony and I can do something about it on our own. Not a fiddle, I don't mean. 1959 Spectator 4 Sept. 297/2, I know you'll think this is one of my fiddles. At my last parish we raffled a horse and trap,..a clothes horse and a mousetrap. |
5. Used interjectionally
= fiddlestick.
| 1695 Congreve Love for L. v. vi, Fore. Hussy, you shall have a Rod. Miss. A Fiddle of a Rod, I'll have a Husband. 1839 Dickens Nich. Nick. i. 4 ‘If one should lose it, we shall no longer be able to live, my dear.’ ‘Fiddle,’ said Mrs. Nickleby. |
6. The action of fiddling, or
fig. of fussy trifling.
| 1874 Blackie Self-Cult. 89 The eternal whirl and fiddle of life, so characteristic of our..neighbours across the Channel. |
7. attrib. and
Comb. a. simple
attrib., as
fiddle-lore,
fiddle-make.
b. objective, as
fiddle-fabricant,
fiddle-fancier,
fiddle-holder,
fiddle-lover,
fiddle-maker;
fiddle-making vbl. n.;
fiddle-scraping adj.| 1836 Dubourg Violin ix. (1878) 271 The noted Tyrolese *fiddle-fabricants. |
| Ibid. ix. 269 An ingenious *fiddle-fancier. |
| 1848 J. Bishop tr. Otto's Violin App. v. (1875) 85 L. Spohr invented what he called a *fiddle-holder. |
| 1885 Pall Mall G. 9 June 1/2 Now is the time for all *fiddle lovers to go and rub up their *fiddle lore. |
| 1864 Sandys & Foster Hist. Violin ix. 125 A large instrument of the *fiddle make. |
| a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 181 A good *Fiddle-Maker. 1885 Pall Mall G. 9 June 2/1 The great emperor of all fiddle-makers, Antonius Stradivarius. |
| 1884 E. Heron-Allen Violin-making ii. vi. 129 The wood used in *fiddle-making should be thoroughly dry. |
| 1879 Besant & Rice 'Twas in Trafalgar's Bay ii. (1891) 21 She came to comparing her son—the *fiddle-scraping son—with his late father. |
8. Special comb.:
fiddle-back, (
a) a back (of a chair) shaped like a fiddle, also
attrib. in
fiddle-back wood, a name given to various ornamental woods used for the covers of books; (
b)
= fiddler beetle; (
c) a chasuble with the front section shaped like a fiddle; (
d) a grain found in wood used for violin-making;
fiddle-block Naut. (see
quot. 1858);
† fiddle-brained a., foolish, frivolous;
fiddle-dock (see
quot. 1823);
fiddle-drill, a drill rotated by a string and bow, a bow-drill;
fiddle-faced a., pulling a long face, unhappy looking;
fiddle-fish, (
a) a name given to the Angel-fish or Monk-fish; (
b) (see
quot. 1867);
fiddle-flanked a., having hollow flanks like a fiddle;
fiddle-grass (see
quot.);
fiddle idol (see
quot. 1961);
fiddle-lipped a., of a flower, having a lip shaped like a fiddle;
fiddle-pattern, the pattern of ‘fiddle-headed’ spoons and forks;
fiddle-patterned a. = fiddle-headed b.;
fiddle-shaped a. Bot. (see
quot. 1866; rendering
mod.L.
panduriformis);
fiddlewood, (
a) the
Citharexylon; (
b) (see
quot. 1878–86).
| 1890 Longm. Mag. Jan. 312 A tall, old Chippendale arm⁓chair, with a quaintly-carved ‘*fiddle’-back. 1898 Morris Austral English 144/1 Fiddle-back, name given in Australia to the beetle, Schizorrhina australasiæ. 1899 P. Dearmer Parson's Handbk. iii. 91 There is no need in an English vestment for the pieces of ribbon without which it seems impossible to keep a ‘fiddle⁓back’ in position. 1908 P. MacQuoid Hist. Eng. Furnit. IV. ii. 62 Harewood or hairwood is the same cutting of sycamore as that used in the manufacture of violins, and consequently termed fiddleback. 1938 H. E. Desch Timber iv. 42 Wavy grain..gives rise to a series of..variations in the reflection of light from the surface of the fibres: this is called fiddle-back figure. 1948 T. Corkhill Gloss. Wood 185 Fiddleback... Fine wavy grain common to sycamore and maple and used for the backs of violins. Ibid. 327 Highly figured wood is called Bird's Eye, Blister, Curly, and Fiddleback Maple. 1956 F. W. Jane Struct. Wood x. 227 Because it has become almost a convention to use wood so figured for the backs of violins, it is commonly known as fiddle-back figure. 1960 P. F. Anson Fash. Ch. Furn. xxx. 319 Skirts ending at the knees went with fiddle-back chasubles of about the same length in the more extreme Anglo-Catholic churches. Ibid. 363 Fiddle-back vestments of Baroque or Rococo style were taboo. 1969 E. H. Pinto Treen 439 Fiddle⁓back..occurs in some logs of sycamore, maple, mahogany, satinwood, etc. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Fiddle-block, a block with two sheaves, one over the other; the lower one smaller than the other. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 44 The lower end [is] spliced round the fiddle block. |
| 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict., *Fiddle⁓dock (Bot.), the Rumex pulcher of Linnæus. |
| 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Bow drill, a *fiddle drill. 1964 W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools 163 A full range of bow and fiddle drills. |
| c 1785 John Thompson's Man (1829) 17 *Fiddle faced, wagtailed fellows. 1885 W. Westall Larry Lohengrin I. v, White-chokered, strait-laced and fiddle-faced. |
| 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. xii. 266 The Torpedo, or numbing fish, which is in shape very like the *fiddle-fish. 1859 All Year Round No. 19. 451 The fiddle-fish (shaped like the butt of a fiddle). 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Fiddle-fish, a name of the king-crab (Limulus polyphemus). |
| c 1785 John Thompson's Man 15 Foul-breeked, rep-shanked, *fiddle-flanked. |
| 1878–86 Britten & Holland Plant-n., *Fiddle Grass, Epilobium hirsutum L. |
| 1939 V. G. Childe Dawn Europ. Civilisation (ed. 3) iv. 51 The cists..contain several skeletons together with vases and ‘*fiddle idols’. 1961 Observer 24 Sept. 35/3 Neolithic figurines..known as fiddle idols carved by some of the islanders of the Aegean. These are flattish marble plaques with no features beyond the swelling outline of breasts and hips. |
| 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 4, Zingiber panduratum, *fiddle-lipped. |
| 1865 Reading Indust. Exhib. Catal. in Reading Mercury (1968) 17 Aug. 11 R. Bracher..advertises his *fiddle-pattern spoons and forks at 7s. 4d. per oz. 1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 184/2 Spoons, forks, etc., nickel silver, fiddle pattern. |
| 1842 Barham Ingol. Leg., Misadv. Margate, I could not see my table-spoons..The little *fiddle-pattern'd ones I use. |
| 1819 Rees Cycl. XIV. s.v., *Fiddle-shaped leaf..is oblong, broad at the two extremities and contracted in the middle, like a fiddle or some sort of guitar. 1866 Treas. Bot., Fiddle-shaped, obovate, with one or two recesses or indentations on each side. |
| 1713 J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XXVIII. 216 Barbadoes *Fiddle-wood, Citharexylum Americanum. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica 265 Black-heart Fiddlewood. 1878–86 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Fiddle⁓wood, Scrophularia aquatica. |
▪ II. fiddle, v. (
ˈfɪd(ə)l)
[f. prec. n.] 1. a. intr. To play the fiddle or violin; now only in familiar or contemptuous use. Also
fig.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 231 For I can noither tabre ne trompe..ne fythelen at festes, ne harpen. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 159/2 Fydelin, or fyielyn, vitulor. 1530 Palsgr. 549/1 Can you fyddell and playe upon a tabouret to? 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. v. i, What dost think I am, that thou shouldst fiddle So much upon my patience? a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1662) 120 This man [John Smith] could not fidle, could not Tune himself to be pleasant and plausible to all Companies. 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 598 Others..Teach Kings to fiddle, and make Senates dance. 1836 W. Irving Astoria I. 216 They feast, they fiddle, they drink, they sing. |
b. quasi-trans. with cognate
obj. In
quot. fig.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 447 A lered man, to lere þe what oure lorde suffred..And fithel þe without flaterynge of gode friday þe storye. 1870 The Universe 21 May, We had used to say they were ignorant, but now when we see a..monk-taught boy we fiddle another tune. |
c. trans. with adverbs (nonce-uses).
| 1532 More Confut. Barnes viii. Wks. 739/2 All maner of people be he pope or pedeler..monke or myller, frere or fideler, or anye of the remenaunt that thys fonde frere fiddeleth forth here by letters. 1593 Nashe Christ's T. 39 b, Blowne vp honour, honour by antick fawning fidled vp. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch. To Rdr. 163 Let Nero fiddle out Rome's Obsequies. 1864 Fraser's Mag. Apr. 403 That impulsive band which proposed to fiddle down the walls of our Social Jericho. |
2. techn. (See
quot.)
| 1883 Gill in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) XVI. 244 s.v. Micro⁓meter, Each movable web must pass the other without coming in contact with it or the fixed wire and without rubbing on any part of the brass-work. Should either fault occur (technically called ‘fiddling’) it is fatal to accurate measurement. |
3. a. To make aimless or frivolous movements;
esp. to play, toy
about,
at,
on,
over,
with (a thing,
rarely, a person); to act idly or frivolously. Also
to fiddle about.
| 1530 Palsgr. 549/1 Loke you fydell nat with your handes whan your maister speketh to you. 1604 T. Wright Passions iv. ii. §3. 133 Some men you haue alwaies fidling about their garments. 1663 Pepys Diary 13 July, The ladies..talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers. 1705 W. King Art of Love xii. 13 Her fingers or her tongue would fiddle. 1738 Swift Polite Convers. ii, He took a pipe in his hand, and fiddled with it till he broke it. 1741 Betterton Eng. Stage v. 64 Some are perpetually fidling about their Cloaths. 1761 Mrs. Sheridan Sidney Bidulph (1767) IV. 134, I had pretended to be fiddling at it all the time we were at tea. 1855 Browning Fra Lippo 13 You'll take Your hand away that's fiddling on my throat. 1883 H. Smart Hard Lines I. iii, They've had him fiddling about so long in the school, he's most likely forgot how to gallop. 1884 Sat. Rev. 12 July 40/1 A Ministry fiddling with Franchise Bills. |
b. slang. (See
quot.)
| 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 199/1 A lad that had been lucky fiddling (holding horses or picking up money any⁓how). |
c. trans. to fiddle away: to fritter away.
| 1667 H. More Div. Dial. ii. xiv. (1713) 132 [They] fiddle away their time as idlely as those that pill Straws. 1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th C. vi. 221 The common⁓place way of treating it is that of simply fiddling it away. |
4. trans. and
intr. To cheat, swindle; to ‘wangle’, intrigue; (see also
quot. 1850). Also with
into,
out of. Now only
slang.| 1604 Dekker Honest Wh. Wks. 1873 II. 170 There was one more that fiddled my fine Pedlers. 1703 De Foe Villainy of Stockjobbers Misc. 268 There People can..Fiddle them out of their Money. 1738 Chesterfield Common Sense 14 Oct., Somebody else would have been fiddled into it again. 1850 Lloyd's Weekly 3 Feb. (Farmer), I understand fiddling—that means, buying a thing for a mere trifle and selling it for double or for more. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 424 The way the globe man does is to go among the old women and fiddle (humbug) them. 1861 Ibid. III. 130 We are generally fiddled most tremendous. a 1889 St. Louis Chron. in Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang (1889) I. 360/1 Bob is the man who fiddled himself into Congress. 1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xv. 169 They fiddled into this job. 1955 Times 12 Aug. 5/4 William Alfred Powell, in evidence, said he approached Heard about getting a letter ‘fiddled out’ for him. 1958 S. Spender Fool & Princess 172 His own power for ‘fiddling’ through... His capacity for making deals. |
5. slang. To take liberties with (a woman).
| 1632 Chapman & Shirley Ball ii. iii, Fiddling ladies, you molecatcher! |