Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
I don't have diddly squat
English answer:
I don't have anything
Added to glossary by
zmejka
Jun 5, 2004 13:24
20 yrs ago
English term
diddly squat
English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
My friend the communist
Sheryl Crow lyrics again
what does "diddly squat" stand for, please?..
Holds meetings in his RV
I can't afford his gas
So I'm stuck here watching tv
I don't have digital
I don't have diddly squat
It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got
Sheryl Crow lyrics again
what does "diddly squat" stand for, please?..
Holds meetings in his RV
I can't afford his gas
So I'm stuck here watching tv
I don't have digital
I don't have diddly squat
It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got
Responses
4 +19 | nothing at all | Kim Metzger |
5 +17 | zip, zilch, nada | Casey Butterfield |
5 +13 | absolutely nothing | Rowan Morrell |
5 | something of very little value | Refugio |
3 | anything | chica nueva |
Responses
+19
1 min
Selected
nothing at all
I don't have diddly squat means "I have nothing at all."
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "wow
thanks for being so helpful and unanimous, everyone! :) "
+17
1 min
zip, zilch, nada
I have absolutely nothing.
I don't have anything.
I don't have anything.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Rowan Morrell
: Looks like you're in a dead heat with Kim. There's diddly squat in it! :-)
1 min
|
so it seems...thanks Rowan!
|
|
agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
14 mins
|
Thanks Vicky!
|
|
agree |
Alfa Trans (X)
14 mins
|
Thanks Marju!
|
|
agree |
NancyLynn
21 mins
|
Thanks NancyLynn!
|
|
agree |
A-Z Trans (X)
27 mins
|
Thanks mbatrad!
|
|
agree |
tazdog (X)
33 mins
|
Thanks Cindy!
|
|
agree |
Sol
44 mins
|
Thanks Sol!
|
|
agree |
airmailrpl
: -
58 mins
|
Thanks airmailrpl!
|
|
agree |
Rajan Chopra
1 hr
|
Thanks langclinic!
|
|
agree |
Nancy Arrowsmith
: zilcho
1 hr
|
Bupkis, even. Thanks!
|
|
agree |
awilliams
1 hr
|
Thanks Amy!
|
|
agree |
mk_lab
2 hrs
|
Thanks mk_lab!
|
|
agree |
sarahl (X)
3 hrs
|
Thanks sarahl!
|
|
agree |
Eva Karpouzi
11 hrs
|
Thanks Eva!
|
|
agree |
Alexandra Tussing
12 hrs
|
Thanks Alexandra!
|
|
agree |
Aisha Maniar
1 day 46 mins
|
Thanks Aishia!
|
|
agree |
nlingua
1 day 6 hrs
|
Thanks nlingua!
|
+13
2 mins
absolutely nothing
To not have diddly squat means to have absolutely nothing - zip, zero, zilch - you get the idea. :-)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
NGK
8 mins
|
Thanks Norbert.
|
|
agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
13 mins
|
Thanks Vicky.
|
|
agree |
Alfa Trans (X)
14 mins
|
Thanks Marju.
|
|
agree |
NancyLynn
21 mins
|
Thanks Nancy.
|
|
agree |
A-Z Trans (X)
25 mins
|
Thanks mbatrad.
|
|
agree |
tazdog (X)
33 mins
|
Thanks Cindy.
|
|
agree |
airmailrpl
: -
58 mins
|
Thanks airmailrpl.
|
|
agree |
Rajan Chopra
1 hr
|
Thanks langclinic.
|
|
agree |
awilliams
1 hr
|
Thanks Amy.
|
|
agree |
mk_lab
2 hrs
|
Thanks mk_lab.
|
|
agree |
Eva Karpouzi
11 hrs
|
Thanks Eva.
|
|
agree |
Saleh Chowdhury, Ph.D.
12 hrs
|
Thanks Saleh.
|
|
agree |
Alexandra Tussing
12 hrs
|
Thanks Alexandra..
|
1 hr
something of very little value
First of all, it doesn't mean "nothing." NOT to have diddly squat may mean to have nothing, but to HAVE diddly squat means to have very little.
There are two main schools of thought on the origin of the phrase.
1) From "Why You Say It" By Webb Garrison (Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, Tenn., 1992): "Diddly-squat.Strictly American in origin, that expression sounds suspiciously like a pair of modified barnyard terms - but isn't. Carneys (carnival workers) who traveled from town to town working one county fair after another developed their own private language. They had to do so in order to attract potential gamblers who would pay for a chance at a gimcrack prize. 'Diddle-e-squat' seems to have entered the carnival talk to name money - often a nickel or a dime, since that was the going rate for a game of chance. Frequently used to hide talk about a small amount of money, it was an easy and natural transition for the carnival term to indicate very little of anything."
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Note added at 2 hrs 1 min (2004-06-05 15:25:20 GMT)
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2) Having conducted extensive research into diddly, diddle, doodle, dawdle and several similar red herrings, I have come to the conclusion that it\'s just excrement. Wait, don\'t go! I mean, literally, that\'s what diddly-squat means. The earliest (1934) form of this expression was doodly-squat. The word squat came to English in the 15th century from the Old French se quatir meaning \"to crouch\". As squatting is involved in the performance of a certain bodily function*, squat was occasionally used as a euphemistic substitute, as in: \"That boy don\'t know squat about baseball.\"
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Note added at 2 hrs 3 mins (2004-06-05 15:27:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
In short, it seems that \"squat\" stands for \"shit\" and is probably the origin of the carney slang as well.
There are two main schools of thought on the origin of the phrase.
1) From "Why You Say It" By Webb Garrison (Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, Tenn., 1992): "Diddly-squat.Strictly American in origin, that expression sounds suspiciously like a pair of modified barnyard terms - but isn't. Carneys (carnival workers) who traveled from town to town working one county fair after another developed their own private language. They had to do so in order to attract potential gamblers who would pay for a chance at a gimcrack prize. 'Diddle-e-squat' seems to have entered the carnival talk to name money - often a nickel or a dime, since that was the going rate for a game of chance. Frequently used to hide talk about a small amount of money, it was an easy and natural transition for the carnival term to indicate very little of anything."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs 1 min (2004-06-05 15:25:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
2) Having conducted extensive research into diddly, diddle, doodle, dawdle and several similar red herrings, I have come to the conclusion that it\'s just excrement. Wait, don\'t go! I mean, literally, that\'s what diddly-squat means. The earliest (1934) form of this expression was doodly-squat. The word squat came to English in the 15th century from the Old French se quatir meaning \"to crouch\". As squatting is involved in the performance of a certain bodily function*, squat was occasionally used as a euphemistic substitute, as in: \"That boy don\'t know squat about baseball.\"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs 3 mins (2004-06-05 15:27:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
In short, it seems that \"squat\" stands for \"shit\" and is probably the origin of the carney slang as well.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Tony M
: Interesting research, RUTH! (Oh, I do apologize! Been reading too many KudoZ...) I wonder if 'diddly' has any connection with BE 'tiddly' meaning tiny, and also in 'tiddly-winks'?
22 mins
|
Rita??? That is because it is usually used in the negative, as in, "not worth even something of such little worth as squat."
|
17 hrs
anything
diddly (also diddly-squat) (US informal) = anything eg He hasn't done diddly all day. There's no point in asking Ellen - she doesn't know diddly.
Reference:
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