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piddle around

 - 3 dictionary results

pid⋅dle

[pid-l] verb, -dled, -dling.
–verb (used without object)
1. to spend time in a wasteful, trifling, or ineffective way; dawdle (often fol. by around): He wasted the day piddling around.
2. Informal. (esp. of children and pets) to urinate.
–verb (used with object)
3. to waste (time, money, etc.); fail to utilize (usually fol. by away).

Origin:
1535–45; orig. uncert.


piddler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
piddle (around)

  1. in.
    to waste time; to work aimlessly or inefficiently. : Can't you get serious and stop piddling?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

piddle 
1545, "to peddle, to work in a trifling way," of uncertain origin, apparently a frequentative form. Meaning "to pick at one's food" is from 1620; that of "urinate" is from 1796. Piddling (adj.) "insignificant, trifling" is from 1559.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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