fiddlesticks

Circa 1600, England. From fiddlestick, from the late Middle English fidillstyk (“violin bow”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɪdl̩.stɪks/

fiddlesticks

1. (euphemistic) Nonsense! Expresses dismissal or disdain.

   Fiddlesticks! It's nothing but smoke and mirrors!

   • 1701, Farquhar, George, 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, Miles, Henry Downes, 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, Christie, Agatha, “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.'

2. (euphemistic) Darn! Expresses mild dismay or annoyance.

   Oh, fiddlesticks! I locked my keys in the car.

• (expresses dismissal): fiddlesticks, horsefeathers, pull the other one; see also Thesaurus:bullshit
• (expresses annoyance): consarn it, good grief, rats; see also Thesaurus:dammit

fiddlesticks

1. plural of fiddlestick

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