fiddlestick

American  

[fid-l-stik] / ˈfɪd lˌstɪk /

noun

1. anything; a bit.

   I don't care a fiddlestick for what they say.

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fiddlestick British  

/ ˈfɪdəlˌstɪk /

noun

1. informal a violin bow

2. any meaningless or inconsequential thing; trifle

3. an expression of annoyance or disagreement

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Etymology

Origin of fiddlestick

First recorded in 1400–50, fiddlestick is from the late Middle English word fidillstyk. See fiddle, stick ¹

Example Sentences

“However,” he added in a cheerful tone, “I have no fears that all will be right, and that, before many evenings are over, we shall have you fingering your fiddlestick as merrily as ever.”

From True Blue by Kingston, William Henry Giles

"Cat's foot, fiddlestick, folderol, fudge!" remarked Mrs. Tree, blandly.

From Mrs. Tree by Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe

It is Folker's long broadsword that the poet, with a grim kind of merriment, calls his fiddlestick.

From The Nibelungenlied Revised Edition by Unknown

His fiddle stood always on the board in a corner by him, and no sooner had he ceased to brandish his needle, than he began to brandish his fiddlestick.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 4, September, 1850 by Various

This done, Stringstriker played a lively march, broke through a window with his fiddlestick, and leapt out through the opening—whilst the whole dwarf brotherhood, waltzing, laughing, tumbling, in a countless crowd, prepared to follow him.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 56, No. 346, August, 1844 by Various