different between diddle vs daddle

English

Etymology

From dialectal duddle (“to trick”) (16th century), duddle (“to totter”) (17th century); perhaps influenced by the name (which itself was probably chosen as an allusion to duddle) of the swindling character Jeremy Diddler in Kenney's Raising the Wind (1803). Meaning "to have sex with" is from the 19th century; "to masturbate" is from the 1950s. Compare dildo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): [?d?d??]
• Rhymes: -?d?l

Noun

diddle (plural diddles)

1. (music) In percussion, two consecutive notes played by the same hand (either RR or LL), similar to the drag, except that by convention diddles are played the same speed as the context in which they are placed.
2. (slang, childish) The penis.

Verb

diddle (third-person singular simple present diddles, present participle diddling, simple past and past participle diddled)

1. (transitive, slang) To cheat; to swindle.
2. (transitive, slang) To have sex with.
3. (transitive, slang) To masturbate (especially of women).
4. (transitive) To waste time.
5. (intransitive) To totter, like a child learning to walk; to daddle.
   • 1632, Frances Quarles, Divine Fancies

     And, when his forward strength began to bloom, / To see him diddle up and down the Room!

6. (transitive, computing, slang) To manipulate a value at the level of individual bits (binary digits).

   Coordinate term: twiddle

Synonyms

• (cheat, swindle): defraud, take for a ride; see also Thesaurus:deceive
• (have sex with): go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
• (masturbate): beat off, play with oneself; see also Thesaurus:masturbate
• (waste time): dick around, lollygag; see also Thesaurus:loiter
• (totter): reel, stagger, sway

Translations

Interjection

diddle

1. A meaningless word used when singing a tune or indicating a rhythm.

   What's that tune that goes "diddle di-dum, diddle di-dum, diddle di-dum-dum"?

Anagrams

• lidded

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?dæd??/

Etymology 1

Probably dade +? -le.

Verb

daddle (third-person singular simple present daddles, present participle daddling, simple past and past participle daddled)

1. (intransitive, archaic or dialectal) To walk unsteadily; totter; dawdle
   • 1869, Thomas Collins, The life of the rev. Thos. Collins

     I had to wait an hour at the station for the coming of his train. It was passed pleasantly in reading, ' The Victory Won,' an interesting narrative of the salvation of a sceptical physician. When uncle arrived, he and I daddled along a pretty narrow lane.

2. To diddle (cheat)
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     "Thunder!" he cried. "A week! I can't do that; they'd have the black spot on me by then. The lubbers is going about to get the wind of me this blessed moment; lubbers as couldn't keep what they got, and want to nail what is another's. Is that seamanly behavior, now, I want to know? But I'm a saving soul. I never wasted good money of mine, nor lost it neither; and I'll trick 'em again. I'm not afraid on 'em. I'll shake out another reef, matey, and daddle 'em again."

Etymology 2

Noun

daddle (plural daddles)

1. (slang, obsolete) The hand or fist; used in the phrase "tip us your daddle" meaning "give me your hand".

Derived terms

• diddle-daddle
• tip the daddle

Anagrams

• addled