Twiddle

Definition: Twiddle

Twiddle

Noun

1. A series of small (usually idle) twists or turns.

Verb

1. Turn in a twisting or spinning motion; "The leaves swirled in the autumn wind".

2. Manipulate, as in a nervous or unconscious manner.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "twiddle" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1872. (references)

Computing

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Twiddle

Touch

Verb: touch, feel, handle, finger, thumb, paw, fumble, grope, grabble; twiddle, tweedle; pass the fingers over, run the fingers over; manipulate, wield; throw out a feeler.

Crosswords: Twiddle

Books

• Mr Twiddle in Trouble Again (Happy Days) (reference)

• MR Twiddle Stories (reference)

• The Twiddle Twins' Haunted House (reference)

• The Twiddle Twins' Music Box Mystery (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "twiddle": twiddle one's thumbs ♦ twiddle smb.'s thumbs ♦ twiddle with ♦ twiddle with one's pencil. Additional references.

Albanian

vërtit nëpër duart, vërtirje, luaj (act, come, enact, fidget with, fool about, fool around, game, interpret, palter, perform, personate, play, playact, toy, wiggle, wriggle), dridhem (blink, dither, dodder, flicker, flinch, give a start, pulsate, quake, quiver, shake, shiver, shudder, thrill, tremble, twitch, vibrate, wabble, waver, wince, wobble, writhe). (various references)

Arabic 

‏فتل (curl, kink, lay, rope, torque, torsion, twine, twist), ‏مس (befall, contact, feel, finger, graze, handle, impinge, palpate, tip, touch), ‏تحسس (feel one's way, fumble, scrabble about), ‏عبث (dalliance, fiddlestick, flightiness, flirtation, frivolity, futility, loiter, mess up, moonshine, mosey, palter, piddle, piffling, pointless, potter, shallowness, toy, trifle), ‏إنشغل بالتوافه, ‏أضاع الوقت سدى (piddle, trifle), ‏أدار (administer, boss, carry on, cast, direct, dispense, govern, manage, mobilize, operate, order, preside, procure, rotate, run, slew, slue, spin, spun, steward, superintend, tumble, twirl, wind, work), ‏دار (circle, come round, dwelling, go, gyrate, hand round, home, house, operate, orb, orbit, pan, parlor, parlour, residence, revolve, rotate, round, screw, spin, spun, swing, swing round, swirl, swivel, turn over, twirl, up and about, wheel, whirl, wind). (various references)

Bulgarian 

въртя с пръсти, въртя (manage, move, revolve, roll, roll about, rotate, spin, sway, swing, switch, swivel, toss about, trifle, turn, wag, wheel about, wiggle, wind), въртене (circuit, circumgyration, circumvolution, gyration, revolution, rotation, running, spin, swirl, turn, turning, wag, wheel, whirl, wiggle, wriggle), заврънкулка (twirl). (various references)

Czech

toèit (shoot, spill, spin, swing, turn, twine, twirl, twist, whirl, wind), kroutit (twist, wiggle, wrest, wring). (various references)

Farsi 

وررفتن(باچیزی), وررفتن (Hangaround, Jauk, Meddle, Paddle, Scamp, Toy), تکان دادن (Budge, Convulse, Hitch, Hustle, Impulse, Jar, Jolt, Jounce, Move, Shake, Startle, Stir, Wag, Wiggle), باساعت مچی وغیره بازی کردن , بازی کردن 2 (Foul, Move, Perform, Play, Sport, Toy), بارامی دست زدن . (various references)

French

tripoter, tourner, tortiller (twirl, twist round), tordre (twist), tire-bouchonner (twist), se tourner, manier. (various references)

German

herumspielen (fiddle about, mess about, mess around, muck about, muck around, play around), herumdrehen (pull round, slue, to reverse, to slue), drehen (be about, centre on, change, concern, contort, film, fix, grind, pull, pull off, revolve, roll, rotate, shift, slew, span, spin, spun, swivel, take, throw, to revolve, to turn, to twiddle, to twirl, to twist, turn, turn around, turn round, twirl, twist, wangle, wheel, wind, work). (various references)

Greek 

κλώθω (spin), στριφογυρίζω (buzz about, buzz around, churn, spin, squirm, wriggle), στροφή (bend, curve, stanza, stave, turn, turning, turnover, twist, verticil, wind, winding, wrest), γυρίζω (get back, give back, return, rotate, turn, veer, wheel, whirl), παίζω (act, dally, fool around, frolic, game, horse around, monkey, play, rollick, sport, toy, trifle). (various references)

Hebrew 

למשש (feel, fumble, grope, touch), ל�"שתעשע ב- (fiddle with, monkey with, trifle), לסובב (circuit, revolve, roll, rotate, slue, sprain, wind). (various references)

Hungarian

malmozik (to twiddle one's thumbs, to twirl one's thumbs, twiddle one's thumbs), babrál valamivel. (various references)

Italian

ruotare (circle, revolve, roll, rotate, spin, swing, swivel, wheel, wheel about), giocherellare (fiddle, toy), fare girare (swing). (various references)

Pig Latin

iddletway

Portuguese

torcer (bend, contort, convolute, kink, screw, spin, sprain, strain, tweak, twine, twirl, twist, warp, wind, wrench, wrick, wring, writhe), volta (bend, bent, circuit, detour, dog-collar, gyre, jaunt, meander, regress, return, revolution, round, roundabout, slue, spire, stroll, sweep, tour, turnabout, turning, twirl, twist, wimple, winding), rotação pequena, mexer em (tamper), giro (circuit, gyre, meander, slue, spin, stroll, tour, whirl, winding), girar (circle, circuit, dance, gyrate, pivot, revolve, slue, slue round, spin, swing, troll, trundle, turn, turn around, turn back, turn round, wind), fazer andar � volta (twirl), brincar com (rag). (various references)

Romanian

învârti (brandish, dance, grind, manipulate, revolve, roll, rotate, spin, turn, turn round, twirl, twist, wheel, whirl, wield, wind). (various references)

Russian 

верчение (spin), вертеть в руках (fumble), вертеть (turn, whirl), бездельничать (bum, dawdle, drone, fiddle about, fribble, idle, lallygag, laze, loaf, molder, moulder, sit back, while the time away). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

traćiti vreme (dawdle, mess about, twiddle one's thumbs), vrteti (drill, gyrate, turn), besposličariti (fool about, laze). (various references)

Spanish

revolver ociosamente, juguetear con (bandy, fool around), jugar con (rollick, romp, sail, venture), hacer girar (gyrate, pivot, revolve, rotate, turn, turn about, turn around, turn over, wheel, whirl), girar (back, derange, draw, endorse, go round, gyrate, hinge, Rev, revolve, rotate, slew, slue, spin, swish, swivel round, to turn, turn, turn about, turn around, turn round, twist, twist round, veer, wheel, wind, wind up), dar vueltas por (brood on, brood over, toy, turn about). (various references)

Swedish

snurrande (spin, twirl, whirl), snurra på, sno (contort, hustle, lift, pinch, snitch, swipe, twirl, twist, whip), krumelur (flourish, pothooks and hangers, squiggle). (various references)

Turkish

döndürmek (deflect, return, reverse, revolve, roll, rotate, round off, slew, slew round, slue, slue round, spin, swerve, swing, turn, turn aside, turn inside out, turn over, turn round, twirl, veer, veer round, wheel, whip, whirl, wind, wind up), çevirmek (assemble, avert, bowl, change to, commute, convert, decline, deflect, divert, encircle, enclose, exchange, flip, flip over, hedge in, hedge round, inclose, interpret, manage, point, point on, pull, render, revert, roll, roll over, screw, slew, slew round, slue, slue round, spin, surround, switch to, translate, translate into, turn, turn into, turn on, turn over, turn to, twirl, upturn, whip, wind, wind up, zone). (various references)

Ukrainian

вертіти (jib, roll, swing, twirl, wheel, whirl), вертіння (twirl), завиток (curl, kinkle, querl, whorl), байдикувати (bum, dawdle, drone, hang about, idle, knock around, lallygag, loiter away, sit back, snooze). (various references)

Vietnamese 

sự xoay nhẹ, sự vặn nhẹ. (various references)

inquietari, inquietas, inquietasti. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "twiddle": twiddled, twiddler, twiddlers, twiddles. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Twiddle" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: tridle, twaddel, Twaddell, twadle, twid, twide, Twydale, widdel, widdle. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: widdle, wilted.

-2 letters: dwelt, idled, tided, tilde, tiled, wield, wiled, wited.

-3 letters: deil, deli, delt, died, diel, diet, dite, edit, idle, lewd, lied, lite, lwei, tide, tied, tile, weld, welt, wide, wild, wile, wilt, wite.

-4 letters: del, dew, did, die, dit, eld, led, lei, let, lid, lie, lit, ted, tel, tew, tie, til, wed.

+1 letter: twiddled, twiddler, twiddles.

+2 letters: twiddlers, twiddlier.

+3 letters: twiddliest, wildcatted.

+5 letters: middleweight.