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fiddledeedee attitude

fiddledeedee attitude

9.9
A careless way of thinking that ignores serious problems
  • noun
  • /ˌfɪdəlˈdiːdi ˈætɪtjuːd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : actitud despreocupada
  • His fiddledeedee attitude towards the project frustrated the team.

Examples

  • Don't adopt that fiddledeedee attitude during the meeting!

  • She responded to the criticism with a fiddledeedee attitude that surprised everyone.

  • His fiddledeedee attitude made it clear he wasn't taking the situation seriously.

  • It's hard to resolve issues when you have a fiddledeedee attitude toward real problems.

  • His fiddledeedee attitude made it clear he wasn't taking the situation seriously.

  • It's hard to resolve issues when you have a fiddledeedee attitude toward real problems.

  • Her fiddledeedee attitude about the deadlines caused frustration among the team.

Synonyms

devil-may-care
vsfiddledeedee attitude
  • Informal
4 8.1

Not caring about danger or the bad results of actions

focuses on treating matters as unimportant rather than risking harm
dismissiveness
vsfiddledeedee attitude
1 7.5

A way of showing you do not value someone's ideas or feelings

is more playful and carefree, treating serious matters lightly
cavalierism
vsfiddledeedee attitude
9.5

A way of behaving that shows you do not care about others

is more carefree and treats seriousness as unimportant rather than being proud

Antonyms

Being careful and thoughtful about important things

How Dismissive

fiddledeedee attitude
  • Archaic
9.9
nonchalance
6 7.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

fiddledeedee + attitude

The second element 'attitude' clearly signals a type of stance, and if a learner recognizes 'fiddledeedee' as an interjection expressing dismissiveness or frivolity, the combined meaning ('a dismissive/carefree attitude') is derivable. However, 'fiddledeedee' is rare, dialectal/onomatopoeic and absent from standard dictionaries here, so many B1 learners who only know 'attitude' would not predict the sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Fiddledeedee attitude may come from the silly little song fiddle-dee-dee that people used to hum when they wanted to act like they did not care. So, the image of someone singing a light, playful tune explains why the phrase means 'carefree' or 'not taking something seriously'.