fiddlyadj.
/ˈfɪdl̩i/, /ˈfɪdli/, U.S. /ˈfɪdli/ colloquial.
Requiring time or dexterity; pernickety.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [adjective] > difficult or delicate
fine-fingered1549
brickle1568
kittle1568
tickle1569
delicate1574
trickle1579
chary1581
ticklesome1585
ticklish1591
jealous1600
tender1625
nicea1630
thorny1653
parlous1657
tricksy1835
niggling1851
tricky1868
catchy1874
pernickety1884
trickish1900
fiddly1926
footery1929
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > having or characterized by bodily skill > skilled with hands > requiring time and dexterity
pernickety1884
fiddly1926
1926 Blackwood's Mag. Sept. 403/1 A fiddly sort of way of translating into action the Political's broad exhortation.
1960 Times 29 July 4/6 ‘Fiddly things’ should be done by automatic machines.
1964 Which? Apr. 43/2 The Commer's [roof]..needed rather a push to get it started and had fiddley catches.
1970 Amateur Photographer 11 Mar. 28/3 Working in total darkness to line up those fiddly bits of film.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1926