Word.ws English Dictionary

fiddles while Rome burns

fiddles while Rome burns is the third-person singular simple present indicative of fiddle while Rome burns.

Meaning of fiddle while Rome burns

Verb

fiddle while Rome burns (third-person singular simple present fiddles while Rome burns, present participle fiddling while Rome burns, simple past and past participle fiddled while Rome burned or fiddled while Rome burnt)

  1. (idiomatic) To neglect helping when one’s time is needed most; to ignore the major problem at hand (whilst doing something less important); to be idle, inactive, or uninterested in a time of great need.
    Synonyms:
    sit on one's hands, sit on one's thumbs

Questions about fiddles while Rome burns

What is fiddles while Rome burns the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Fiddles while Rome burns is the third-person singular simple present indicative of fiddle while Rome burns.

Words near fiddles while Rome burns in the dictionary

  1. fiddlery
  2. fiddles
  3. fiddles about
  4. fiddles around
  5. fiddles away
  6. fiddles while Rome burns
  7. fiddles with
  8. fiddlesome
  9. fiddlestick
  10. fiddlesticks
  11. fiddlestring

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fiddles while Rome burns (page history and authors); fiddle while Rome burns (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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