fiddle away

fiddle away

To squander something, usually time. You'll have to stay up all night finishing this report because you fiddled away so much time this afternoon. Instead of working on my taxes, I just fiddled away the afternoon. That was a waste. Hey, I'm retired now—I can fiddle away my time any way I choose!

See also: away, fiddle

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

fiddle something away

to waste something. She fiddled the afternoon away. Don't fiddle away the afternoon. Get to work.

See also: away, fiddle

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

fiddle away

v.

To waste or squander some period of time: I fiddled away the afternoon surfing the Internet. The lazy student fiddled the night away instead of doing homework.

See also: away, fiddle

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.