diddle
VerbWordNet 3.0
Verb (2)
- deprive of by deceit“He swindled me out of my inheritance”“She defrauded the customers who trusted her”“the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change”Synonyms: victimizeswindlerookgoldbricknobblebuncodefraudscammulctgypgiphornswoggleshort-changecon
- manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination“She played nervously with her wedding ring”“Don't fiddle with the screws”“He played with the idea of running for the Senate”Synonyms: toyfiddleplay
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Diddle \Did"dle\, v. i. [Cf. Daddle.] To totter, as a child in walking. [Obs.] --Quarles. [1913 Webster]
Diddle \Did"dle\, v. t. [Perh. from AS. dyderian to deceive, the letter r being changed to l.] To cheat or overreach. [Colloq.] --Beaconsfield. [1913 Webster]
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
diddle
<jargon> (US) To work in a casual manner, or the result of such work. (In the UK "to diddle someone" means to cheat them).
"I diddled a copy of ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the time." "Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem goes away."
Similar to twiddle, less purposeful than tweak. [Jargon File]
(2013-08-18)
The Jargon File
diddle
1.vt. To work with or modify in a not-particularly-serious manner. “I diddled a copy of ADVENT so it didn't double-space all the time.” “Let's diddle this piece of code and see if the problem goes away.” See tweak and twiddle.
2.n. The action or result of diddling.