Touched or played with something restlessly, often without thinking; or cheated/manipulated numbers or facts dishonestly.
From Old English 'fitele' (fiddle), possibly from 'fit' (a section of music). The 'dishonest' meaning evolved in the 1700s-1800s, possibly from how con artists fiddle with accounting.
The phrase 'Nero fiddled while Rome burned' is historically wrong — the fiddle didn't exist in Rome, and scholars debate if Rome was even on fire when Nero ruled, yet this phrase shaped how people imagine him for 2,000 years.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.