WCOREW Word

Fiddlesticks


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Came first in group 542 in round 1 with 522 votes

beat Mandrel on 104 votes
beat Purpose on 31 votes
beat Sign on 28 votes


Came first in group 136 in round 2 with 405 votes

beat Jalopy on 185 votes
beat Alliterative on 134 votes
beat Chirpy on 77 votes


Won in group 68 in round 3 with 507 votes

beat Tentacle on 291 votes


Lost in group 34 in round 4 with 382 votes

beaten by Codswallop on 593 votes



English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Circa 1600, England. From fiddlestick, from the late Middle English fidillstyk (“violin bow”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈfɪdl̩.stɪks/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Interjection[edit]

fiddlesticks

  1. (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.”
  2. (euphemistic) Darn! Expresses mild dismay or annoyance.
    Oh, fiddlesticks! I locked my keys in the car.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

fiddlesticks

  1. plural of fiddlestick

References[edit]