different between diddle vs diddly

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): /?d?d?li/

Etymology 1

Short for diddly-squat.

Noun

diddly (plural diddlies)

1. (informal) A small amount of no worth.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:modicum

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Alternative forms

• tiddely
• tiddly
• tiddledy
• tiddley

Interjection

diddly

1. A written representation of a trill sound.

Etymology 3

Possibly shortened from diddlywhacker.

Noun

diddly (plural diddlies)

1. (slang, sometimes childish) penis

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:penis

   • 1968, Monica Dickens, The Landlord's Daughter, Doubleday & Company (1968), page 268:

     "My child is going to be taught all about sex as soon as he can understand. Mother-in-law is always clucking to him about his diddly. No, no, I say, you must call it penis."