Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense diddles, present participle diddling, past tense, past participle diddled
1. verb
If someone diddles you, they take money from you dishonestly or unfairly.
[mainly British, informal]
They diddled their insurance company by making a false claim. [VERB noun]
2. verb
If someone diddles, they waste time and do not achieve anything.
[US, informal]
...if Congress were to just diddle around and not take any action at all. [Varound]
diddle in British English1
(ˈdɪdəl)
verb informal
1. (transitive)
to cheat or swindle
2. (intransitive) an obsolete word for dawdle
Derived forms
diddler (ˈdiddler)
noun
Word origin
C19: back formation from Jeremy Diddler, a scrounger in J. Kenney's farce Raising the Wind (1803)
diddle in British English2
(ˈdɪdəl)
verb
dialect
to jerk (an object) up and down or back and forth; shake rapidly
Word origin
C17: probably variant of doderen to tremble, totter; see dodder1
diddle in American English1
(ˈdɪdəl)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈdiddled or ˈdiddling
1. Informal
to move back and forth in a jerky or rapid manner; jiggle
2. Slang
a.
to have sexual intercourse with
b.
to masturbate
verb intransitive
3.
to move back and forth jerkily or rapidly
Derived forms
diddler (ˈdiddler)
noun
Word origin
dial. duddle, diddle, to totter, akin to dodder1
diddle in American English2
(ˈdɪdəl)
Informal
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈdiddled or ˈdiddling
1.
to cheat, swindle, or victimize
2.
to waste (time) in trifling
often followed by away
verb intransitive
3.
to waste time; dawdle
Derived forms
diddler (ˈdiddler)
noun
Word origin
? after Jeremy Diddler, character in the play Raising the Wind (1803), by James Kenney: name prob. < dial. duddle, to trick, ult. < OE dyderian, to fool