# fiddle away

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/fiddle-away
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. to waste time

phrasal verb · CEFR C1 · Informal

to spend time doing small, unimportant things instead of working.

For teachers: to squander time on trivial or unproductive activities. Transitive when used with 'time' or 'the afternoon' as an object; often implies a lack of focus.

- He fiddled away the whole morning looking at social media instead of writing.
- Rather than addressing the urgent budget deficit, the committee fiddled away several hours debating the aesthetics of the new office stationery.

Usage: Usually takes 'time', 'the day', or 'the afternoon' as a direct object.

### 2. to play music idly

phrasal verb · CEFR C2 · Informal · Literary

to play a violin (fiddle) in a relaxed or aimless way for a long time.

For teachers: to play the fiddle or violin in an idle, continuous, or improvisational manner. Intransitive in this sense.

- The old man sat on the porch and fiddled away until the sun went down.
- The street performer fiddled away to the indifferent crowds, his melodies lost in the cacophony of the evening rush hour.

## Examples

- Don't fiddle away your afternoon on social media.
- He managed to fiddle away his entire inheritance on gadgets and expensive dinners within just two years.
- While the administration fiddled away the summer months in committee meetings, the window for effective intervention in the crisis slowly closed.

## Usage notes

- Teaching tip: connect this to the idiom 'fiddling while Rome burns' to help students understand the sense of wasting time during a serious situation.

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