fiddlesticks
intjUK /ˈfɪdl̩.stɪks/
Etymology Circa 1600, England. From fiddlestick, from the late Middle English fidillstyk (“violin bow”).
1
Euphemistic Nonsense! Expresses dismissal or disdain.
- Fiddlesticks! It's nothing but smoke and mirrors!
- Golden pleasures! golden fiddlesticks!—What d'ye tell me of your canting stuff?1701, George Farquhar, Sir Harry Wildair, act 4, scene 2; republished in The Dramatic Works of George Farquhar, volume 1, London: John C. Nimmo, 1892, page 295:
3 more examples
- "Taken the veil—taken fiddlesticks!" said the old man, merrily; "why she lives near Lincoln, is married to a substantial man, the junior partner of one of the wealthiest bankers in the county […]1840, Henry Downes Miles, Dick Turpin:
- 'Safe? Fiddlesticks! There is no safe. Mr Lavington is an intelligent man. You will see, he will have devised a hiding-place much more intelligent than a safe. A safe is the first thing everyone looks for.'1923 October 6, Agatha Christie, “The Case of the Veiled Lady”, in The Sketch, number 1601:
- “Fiddlesticks,” Miss Jenny said. “The war just gave John a good excuse to get himself killed. If it hadn’t been that, it would have been some other way that would have been a bother to everybody around.”1964 [1929], William Faulkner, Sartoris (The Collected Works of William Faulkner), London: Chatto & Windus, page 23:
2
Euphemistic Darn! Expresses mild dismay or annoyance.
Now sometimes specifically interpreted as a euphemism for 'fuck'
- Oh, fiddlesticks! I locked my keys in the car.