| 释义 |
fiddling
fid·dling F0105800 (fĭd′lĭng)adj. Trivial; petty.fiddling (ˈfɪdlɪŋ) adj1. trifling or insignificant; petty2. another word for fiddlyfid•dling (ˈfɪd lɪŋ)
adj. trifling; trivial: a fiddling sum. [1645–55] Thesaurus| Adj. | 1. | fiddling - (informal) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"footling, niggling, picayune, piddling, piffling, trivial, petty, lilliputian, littlecolloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speechunimportant - not important; "a relatively unimportant feature of the system"; "the question seems unimportant" |
fiddlingadjective trivial, small, petty, trifling, insignificant, unimportant, pettifogging, futile There were a thousand fiddling jobs to do.Translationsfiddling
fiddle awayTo squander something, usually time. You'll have to stay up all night finishing this report because you fiddled away so much time this afternoon.See also: away, fiddlefiddle while Rome burnsTo take little to no productive action during a crisis. The phrase refers to the legend of the Roman Emperor Nero playing the lyre as Rome burned down. Organizing these files is like fiddling while Rome burns—the boss won't care what they look like when he finds out we lost that big client! Climate change is upon us, and our leaders just fiddle while Rome burns.See also: burn, fiddle, Rome, whilefiddle with (something)To play or tinker with something. Hey, don't fiddle with the thermostat—it needs to stay at 68 degrees. Grandpa's still fiddling with that old radio, but I doubt he'll get it to work again.See also: fiddlefiddle around1. To play with or idly handle (something); to tinker (with something), especially ineptly or improperly. John, would you quit fiddling around with the engine and bring the car to a shop already? Mary, stop fiddling around with hem of your dress and sit still!2. To engage in aimless recreation or frivolous time-wasting with someone or something. Quit fiddling around and work on your book report already!3. To annoy or irritate someone, often by wasting their time. Quit fiddling around with me and give my book back, will you?See also: around, fiddlefiddle around(with someone) and fiddle about (with someone) to tease, annoy, or play with someone; to waste someone's time. All right, stop fiddling around with me and tell me how much you will give me for my car. Now it's time for all of you to quit fiddling around and get to work. Tom, you have to stop spending your time fiddling about with your friends. It's time to get serious with your studies.See also: around, fiddlefiddle around (with something) and fiddle about (with something)to play with something; to tinker with something ineptly. My brother is outside fiddling around with his car engine. He should stop fiddling around and go out and get a job.See also: around, fiddlefiddle something awayto waste something. She fiddled the afternoon away. Don't fiddle away the afternoon. Get to work.See also: away, fiddlefiddle while Rome burnsFig. to do nothing or something trivial while knowing that something disastrous is happening. (From a legend that the Roman emperor Nero played the lyre while Rome was burning.) The lobbyists don't seem to be doing anything to stop this tax bill. They're fiddling while Rome burns.See also: burn, fiddle, Rome, whilefiddle while Rome burnsOccupy oneself with unimportant matters and neglect important ones during a crisis. For example, The account was falling through, but he was more worried about missing his golf game-talk about fiddling while Rome burns! This expression alludes to the legend that the Emperor Nero played his fiddle while watching the conflagration of Rome. [Mid-1600s] See also: burn, fiddle, Rome, whilefiddle while Rome burns If someone fiddles while Rome burns, they do nothing or spend their time on unimportant things when they have very serious issues or problems to deal with. The Australian community understands the seriousness of the situation. It is the Federal Government that has been fiddling while Rome burns. Note: This expression is very variable. For example, people sometimes replace `Rome' with a different place name or other noun so that this expression is more relevant to the subject they are talking about. People talk about educational reform but while the politicians fiddle, Los Angeles and Chicago are burning and these kids' educational opportunities are going down in flames as well. Note: There is a story that the Emperor Nero set fire to Rome, and then played his lyre and sang as he watched the flames. Afterwards he denied this and blamed the Christians for the destruction. See also: burn, fiddle, Rome, whilefiddle while Rome burns be concerned with relatively trivial matters while ignoring the serious or disastrous events going on around you. This phrase comes from the Roman biographer and historian Suetonius' description of the behaviour of the Roman emperor Nero during the great fire that destroyed much of Rome in ad 64.See also: burn, fiddle, Rome, whileˌfiddle while Rome ˈburns (saying) do nothing or waste your time when you should be dealing with a dangerous or serious situation: With the world’s population growing fast and millions getting hungrier every day, the leaders of the rich nations just seem to be fiddling while Rome burns.This phrase refers to the Roman emperor Nero, who fiddled (= played the violin) during the burning of Rome in AD 64.See also: burn, fiddle, Rome, whilefiddle aroundv. To act foolishly, playfully, or without a clear sense of purpose: If you don't stop fiddling around and start working, we'll never get home.See also: around, fiddlefiddle awayv. To waste or squander some period of time: I fiddled away the afternoon surfing the Internet. The lazy student fiddled the night away instead of doing homework.See also: away, fiddleEncyclopediaSeefiddlefiddling
Related to fiddling: fiddling aroundSynonyms for fiddlingadj trivialSynonyms- trivial
- small
- petty
- trifling
- insignificant
- unimportant
- pettifogging
- futile
Synonyms for fiddlingadj (informal) small and of little importanceSynonyms- footling
- niggling
- picayune
- piddling
- piffling
- trivial
- petty
- lilliputian
- little
Related Words |