Diddle?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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Hi, how does the word ‘diddle’ sound to you? I mean, can have a rather vulgar connotation, can’t it? It’s funny because in Europe the “Diddle Mouse” is a household name. Maybe the name was chosen for people who don’t speak English as their native language?[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: Relaxing in a hammock[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

Hi Torsten,

‘Diddle’ to me means cheat or con. This is what you say when you’ve bought something and realise you’ve been charged too much: I’ve been diddled.

Alan

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I have to admit that the very first thing that came to mind when I saw the title of your thread was this well-known nursery rhyme:

:lol:
The word ‘diddle’ is not one I use very often, and I doubt it would be used much (if at all) to mean ‘cheat or con’ on this side of the pond. Over here it is sometimes used with a vulgar meaning. However, it is also used to mean ‘play around with something’ or ‘while away time’.

‘Diddle Mouse’ does not sound vulgar to me – it just sounds like a funny name.
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4

I have friends… acquaintances really, who use the word diddle in a strictly sexual sense. It is slang / code for heavy petting. I have… I mean my friends; have never really used it for anything else. I have heard it used in a less vulgar way to describe “messing with something with no real interest” or fiddling with something. If I saw a person under the hood of a car tugging at different parts, and I knew that the person had no real idea of how to fix the car, I might say "Hey, why are you diddling with the engine? Or, why are you diddling the engine? But that second use drips of innuendo. So, I think this slang use of diddle, comes from the use fiddle: (dictionary.reference.com/browse/fiddle)(def. # 6, 7, 8 & 11).

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Hi nomisyar

Would you agree that it tends to be men rather than women who use that word with a vulgar meaning? :lol:
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6

I can only speak for the people with whom I have used this word, it is often used in mixed company as well as in an all male environment. Used in an all female environment, that I do not know.

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Well, I guess I wouldn’t have heard this usage in an all male context either. :lol:
Actually, I’ve only rarely heard it used that way. I don’t use the word with the vulgar meaning at all, and only occasionally use it to mean ‘waste time’ or ‘fiddle around’. I suppose that may explain why the nursery rhyme was the first thing that came to my mind.
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