Fiddlesticks

Origin of: Fiddlesticks

Fiddlesticks

Since the late 15th century, a fiddlestick was undoubtedly a violin bow but from about 1600, its plural fiddlesticks became a mild interjection meaning ‘Nonsense!’ No one knows why or how. Some suggest it may have been a polite euphemism for the f word but this is not proven.