fiddle while Rome burns (English, verb)
expansion: 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)
Senses:
glosses: 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.
tags: idiomatic
Forms:
form: fiddles while Rome burns
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: fiddling while Rome burns
tags: participle
present
form: fiddled while Rome burned
tags: participle
past
form: fiddled while Rome burned
tags: past
form: fiddled while Rome burnt
tags: participle
past
form: fiddled while Rome burnt
tags: past
form: fiddle whilst Rome burns
tags: alternative