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diddle

 [did-l]   Origin

did·dle

1   [did-l]
verb (used with object), -dled, -dling.
Informal. to cheat; swindle; hoax.
Origin:
1800–10; perhaps special use of diddle2

Related forms
did·dler, noun

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Diddle is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to flee; abscond:
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

did·dle

2   [did-l] verb, -dled, -dling.
verb (used without object)
1.
Informal. to toy; fool (usually followed by with): The kids have been diddling with the controls on the television set again.
2.
to waste time; dawdle (often followed by around): You would be finished by now if you hadn't spent the morning diddling around.
3.
Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions.
verb (used with object)
4.
Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions; jiggle: Diddle the switch and see if the light comes on.
5.
Slang.
a.
to copulate with.
b.
to practice masturbation upon.
Origin:
1800–10; expressive coinage, perhaps orig. in the Siamese twins diddle-diddle, diddle-daddle; compare dodder1, doodle1

Related forms
did·dler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To diddle
Collins
World English Dictionary
diddle1 (ˈdɪdəl)
 
—vb
1.  (tr) to cheat or swindle
2.  (intr) an obsolete word for dawdle
 
[C19: back formation from Jeremy Diddler, a scrounger in J. Kenney's farce Raising the Wind (1803)]
 
'diddler1
 
—n

diddle2 (ˈdɪdəl)
 
—vb
dialect to jerk (an object) up and down or back and forth; shake rapidly
 
[C17: probably variant of doderen to tremble, totter; see dodder1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

diddle
"to cheat, swindle," 1806, from dial. duddle, diddle "to totter" (1632). Meaning "waste time" is recorded from 1825. Meaning "to have sex with" is from 1879; that of "to masturbate" (especially of women) is from 1950s. More or less unrelated meanings that have gathered around a suggestive sound.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

diddle definition


  1. tv.
    to feel someone sexually. (See also feel (so) up. Usually objectionable.) : She moved her hand over, like she was going to diddle him, then she jabbed him in the crystals.
  2. in.
    to masturbate [oneself]. (Usually objectionable.) : Have you been diddling again?
  3. tv.
    to masturbate someone else. (Akin to sense 1. Usually objectionable.) : She diddled him since it was his birthday.
  4. tv.
    to cheat someone. : The shop owner diddled me out of ten bucks.
  5. tv. & in.
    to copulate [with] someone. (Usually objectionable.) : I'm tired of hearing who has diddled whom in Hollywood.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

diddle definition


1. To work with or modify in a not particularly serious manner. "I diddled a copy of ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the time." "Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem goes away."
See tweak and twiddle.
2. The action or result of diddling.
See also tweak, twiddle, frob.
[Jargon File]
(1995-01-31)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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