Phrasal verb
fiddle about
Definition
phrasal verb. to spend time doing small, unimportant things or to play with something in a nervous way.
phrasal verb. to engage in aimless or unproductive activity; to manipulate an object restlessly or ineffectually. Often carries a connotation of wasting time or lacking focus.
Examples
“Stop fiddling about with your pen and listen to me.”
“We spent the whole afternoon fiddling about with the printer, but it still won't connect to the Wi-Fi.”
“While the committee fiddled about with minor administrative details, the core budget crisis remained entirely unaddressed by the leadership.”
Examples
simple
“Stop fiddling about with your pen and listen to me.”
contextual
“We spent the whole afternoon fiddling about with the printer, but it still won't connect to the Wi-Fi.”
complex
“While the committee fiddled about with minor administrative details, the core budget crisis remained entirely unaddressed by the leadership.”
Usage
often used when the speaker is frustrated by someone's lack of progress or focus.
Teaching tip
contrast with 'fiddle with' (which usually involves a specific object) versus 'fiddle about' (which often describes general time-wasting); note that 'fiddle around' is the common American equivalent.
Pitfall
He was fiddling about the engine for hours.
He was fiddling about with the engine for hours.
when 'fiddle about' takes a physical object, it almost always requires the preposition 'with'.
Phrasal verb
Particles
about
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
fiddle + about (+ with + object)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/fiddle-about