Meaning & use
fiddlestick
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedrare
The bow used for playing a violin or fiddle.
Grammar: Countable; usually used in the plural when talking about the bow as a piece of equipment.
Patterns
- play with a fiddlestick
- a fiddlestick bow
The old fiddlestick was kept in a velvet-lined case.
He tightened the horsehair of the fiddlestick before the performance.
A fiddlestick is rarely called that today; most people just say 'bow'.
interjectionold-fashionedinformal
Used to express mild annoyance or to say that something is nonsense.
Grammar: Almost always used in the plural form 'fiddlesticks' and followed by an exclamation mark or a comma.
Patterns
- Fiddlesticks!
Fiddlesticks! I forgot my keys again.
He said he'd finish by noon, but fiddlesticks—he never does.
Fiddlesticks, that's not what I meant at all.
Word forms
| plural | fiddlesticks |
|---|
Common combinations
- a fiddlestick bow
- The fiddlestick bow was made of fine Brazilwood.
- play with a fiddlestick
- She can play with a fiddlestick as well as with a modern bow.
- Fiddlesticks!
- Fiddlesticks! I've lost my ticket.
- old fiddlestick
- He kept an old fiddlestick as a souvenir.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bow
- The modern, everyday word for the same object; 'fiddlestick' is now rare and sounds old-fashioned.
Word family
Practice
Which sentence uses 'fiddlestick' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A fiddlestick is a bow used to play a violin, so it fits the first sentence. The other options use 'fiddlestick' as a verb or in the wrong meaning, which is not correct.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fiddlestick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.