fiddle while Rome burns






fiddle while Rome burns

be concerned with relatively trivial matters while ignoring the serious or disastrous events going on around you

This phrase comes from the Roman biographer and historian Suetonius' description of the behaviour of the Roman emperor Nero during the great fire that destroyed much of Rome in AD 64.


RELATED IDIOMS :


a face as long as a fiddle

a dismal face




fit as a fiddle

in very good health




hang up your fiddle

retire from business

give up an undertaking - chiefly US




hang up your fiddle when you come home

cease to be cheerful or entertaining when you are in the company of your family - chiefly US




on the fiddle

engaged in cheating or swindling – informal

Fiddle was late 19th-century US slang for a swindle.




play second fiddle to

take a subordinate role to someone or something

The expression derives from the respective roles of the fiddles or violins in an orchestra. Both play first fiddle and play third fiddle are much less common. The implication of playing second fiddle is often that it is somewhat demeaning.

1998 - Times - In A Yank at Oxford, she played second fiddle to Vivien Leigh, which never got anyone very far.




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