fiddlesticks

English

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

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

• (expresses dismissal): See Thesaurus:bullshit
• (expresses annoyance): See Thesaurus:dammit

Translations

Expression of disbelief or disdain

• Dutch: flauwekul (nl)
• French: des clous (fr)
• Portuguese: histórias! (pt), disparate! (pt)

expression of mild dismay or annoyance

• French: zut (fr), flute (fr), saperlipopette (fr)
• Portuguese: ai (pt), bolas (pt), apre (pt), fosca-se
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਫ਼ਿੱਟੇ ਮੂੰਹ (fiṭṭe mū̃h), ਦੁੱਰ ਫ਼ਿੱਟੇ ਮੂੰਹ (durra fiṭṭe mū̃h), ਫ਼ਿੱਟੇ ਮੂੰਹ ਤੇਰਾ (fiṭṭe mū̃h terā)

  Shahmukhi: فِٹّے مُونھ (fiṭṭe mūnh), دُرّ فِٹّے مُونھ (durr fiṭṭe mūnh), فِٹّے مُونھ تیرا (fiṭṭe mūnh terā)

• Russian: ёлки-палки (jólki-palki)
• Spanish: jolín (es), jolines (es), ostras (es)

Noun

fiddlesticks

1. plural of fiddlestick

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “fiddlestick”, in Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved 9 June 2019.