Fumble vs Fiddle - What's the difference?
fumble | fiddle |
(intransitive) To idly touch or nervously handle
* {{quote-news
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(intransitive) To grope awkwardly in trying to find something
* Fielding
To blunder uncertainly.
To grope about in perplexity; to seek awkwardly.
* Chesterfield
* Wordsworth
(transitive, intransitive, sports) To drop a ball or a baton etc.
To handle much; to play childishly; to turn over and over.
* Shakespeare
(music) Any of various bowed string instruments, often used to refer to a violin when played in any of various traditional styles, as opposed to classical violin.
A kind of dock (Rumex pulcher ) with leaves shaped like the musical instrument.
An adjustment intended to cover up a basic flaw.
A fraud; a scam.
(nautical) On board a ship or boat, a rail or batten around the edge of a table or stove to prevent objects falling off at sea. (Also fiddle rail )
To play aimlessly.
* Samuel Pepys
To adjust in order to cover a basic flaw or fraud etc.
(music) To play traditional tunes on a violin in a non-classical style.
* Francis Bacon
As verbs the difference between fumble and fiddle
is that fumble is to idly touch or nervously handle while fiddle is to play aimlessly.As nouns the difference between fumble and fiddle
is that fumble is a ball etc. that has been dropped while fiddle is any of various bowed string instruments, often used to refer to a violin when played in any of various traditional styles, as opposed to classical violin.fumble
English
Verb
(fumbl)- Waiting for the interview, he fumbled with his tie.
- He fumbled the key into the lock.
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- He fumbled for his keys.
- He fumbled his way to the light-switch.
- Adams now began to fumble in his pockets.
- He fumbled through his prepared speech.
- to fumble for an excuse
- My understanding flutters and my memory fumbles .
- Alas! how he fumbles about the domains.
- I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers.
fiddle
English
(wikipedia fiddle)Noun
(en noun)- When I play it like this, it's a fiddle; when I play it like that, it's a violin.
- That parameter setting is just a fiddle to make the lighting look right.
Synonyms
* (instrument) violinDerived terms
* fiddle brake * fiddle factor * fiddle-faddle * fiddlehead * fiddly * first fiddle * fit as a fiddle * lead fiddle * second fiddleSee also
* crowd, crwthVerb
(fiddl)- Talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers.
- You're fiddling your life away.
- I needed to fiddle the lighting parameters to get the image to look right.
- Fred was sacked when the auditors caught him fiddling the books.
- Themistocles said he could not fiddle , but he could make a small town a great city.