fiddlesticks
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
- (interjection): fiddlestick (dated)
Etymology
Circa 1600, England. From fiddlestick, from the late Middle English fidillstyk (“violin bow”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈfɪdl̩.stɪks/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Interjection
fiddlesticks
- (euphemistic) Nonsense! Expresses dismissal or disdain.
- Fiddlesticks! It's nothing but smoke and mirrors!
- 1701, George Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair, act 4, scene 2; republished in The Dramatic Works of George Farquhar, volume 1, London: John C. Nimmo, 1892, page 295:
- Golden pleasures! golden fiddlesticks!—What d'ye tell me of your canting stuff?
- 1840, Henry Downes Miles, Dick Turpin:
- "Taken the veil—taken fiddlesticks!" said the old man, merrily; "why she lives near Lincoln, is married to a substantial man, the junior partner of one of the wealthiest bankers in the county […]
- 1923 October 6, Agatha Christie, “The Case of the Veiled Lady”, in The Sketch, number 1601:
- 'Safe? Fiddlesticks! There is no safe. Mr Lavington is an intelligent man. You will see, he will have devised a hiding-place much more intelligent than a safe. A safe is the first thing everyone looks for.'
- 1964 [1929], William Faulkner, Sartoris (The Collected Works of William Faulkner), London: Chatto & Windus, page 23:
- “Fiddlesticks,” Miss Jenny said. “The war just gave John a good excuse to get himself killed. If it hadn’t been that, it would have been some other way that would have been a bother to everybody around.”
- (euphemistic) Darn! Expresses mild dismay or annoyance.
- Oh, fiddlesticks! I locked my keys in the car.
Synonyms
- (expresses dismissal): See Thesaurus:bullshit
- (expresses annoyance): See Thesaurus:dammit
Translations
Expression of disbelief or disdain
|
expression of mild dismay or annoyance
|
Noun
fiddlesticks
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “fiddlestick”, in Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved 9 June 2019.
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