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fiddler

American  
[fid-ler] / ˈfɪd lər /

noun

  1. a person who plays a fiddle.

  2. a person who dawdles or trifles.

fiddler British  
/ ˈfɪdlə /

noun

  1. a person who plays the fiddle, esp in folk music

  2. See fiddler crab

  3. a person who wastes time or acts aimlessly

  4. informal a cheat or petty rogue

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fiddler

before 1100; Middle English, Old English fithelere; cognate with Dutch vedelaar, German Fiedler. See fiddle, -er 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.