Month: November 2025

What’s a fiddle? It’s a violin! A popular, old-fashioned, folk word for violin though it could also refer to another stringed instrument, like a viola or a cello, that’s played with a bow.

Who’s first fiddle? And who’s second?

Playing second “second fiddle”

“Playing second fiddle” is an idiom meaning:

👉 To be in a subordinate role
👉 To be less important than someone else
👉 To support rather than lead

Where it comes from

In an orchestra, the first violin (first fiddle) plays the main melody and is usually the leader of the string section.
The second violin (second fiddle) plays harmony and supports the first violin.

So metaphorically, how it’s used:

• If you “play second fiddle to someone,” you take a secondary, less visible position while they are the main focus.

And that’s the way it is sometimes in couples: either the husband or the wife has the leading role and the spouse … plays second fiddle.

And here’s a lone fiddler … on the roof. From the Broadway musical of the same name:

summary with French translations:

1. As a noun

A. Violin (informal, folk/traditional context)

• He plays the fiddle in a Celtic band.
  → Il joue du violon dans un groupe celtique.

B. Small fraud / dishonest scheme (UK)

• The tax return was a bit of a fiddle.
  → La déclaration d’impôts était une petite magouille.

C. Something awkward to handle

• Changing the filter is a real fiddle.
  → Changer le filtre, c’est vraiment pénible / pas pratique.

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2. As a verb

A. To fidget / play nervously with something

• She kept fiddling with her keys.
  → Elle n’arrêtait pas de tripoter ses clés.

B. To tinker casually

• He spent the afternoon fiddling with the engine.
  → Il a passé l’après-midi à bricoler le moteur.

C. To falsify / manipulate dishonestly (UK)

• They fiddled the accounts.
  → Ils ont truqué les comptes.

D. To play the fiddle (instrument)

• He loves to fiddle at local festivals.
  → Il adore jouer du violon dans les festivals locaux.

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3. Common idioms

• Fit as a fiddle → En pleine forme.
• Play second fiddle → Jouer les seconds rôles / être relégué au second plan.
• Fiddle while Rome burns → Se distraire pendant que tout s’effondre.

Related Images: