fiddle
fid·dle / ˈfidl/ • n. 1. inf. a violin, esp. when used to play folk music.2. inf., chiefly Brit. an act of defrauding, cheating, or falsifying: a major mortgage fiddle.3. Naut. a contrivance, such as a raised rim, that prevents things from rolling or sliding off a table in bad weather.• v. inf. 1. [intr.] play the fiddle: (fiddling) country music with lots of fiddling and banjo playing. ∎ [tr.] play (a tune) on the fiddle.2. [intr.] touch or fidget with something in a restless or nervous way: Laura fiddled with her cup. ∎ tinker with something in an attempt to make minor adjustments or improvements: never fiddle with an electric machine that's plugged in. ∎ (fiddle around) pass time aimlessly, without doing or achieving anything of substance.3. [tr.] falsify (figures, data, or records), typically in order to gain money: everyone is fiddling their expenses.PHRASES: (as) fit as a fiddle in good health.play second fiddle to take a subordinate role to someone or something in a way often considered demeaning: she had to play second fiddle to the interests of her husband.DERIVATIVES: fid·dler n.