To do nothing or engage you in trivial things knowing that something urgent and critical is happening around

Etymology:

  • This expression has great association with legend Emperor Nero in A.D.64, who stood on a great tower and was found busy playing his lyre “fiddle” while he was watching his city Rome sweltering. It is not known whether the story is true or fallacious but it gave rise to this expression or idiom that simply suggests the behavior of anyone who is well aware of the crisis but doesn’t take any step.
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Price hike has made lives of poor worse, people rightly claims that the government is fiddling while Rome burns.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Additional definitions for 'Fiddle While Rome Burns':

fiddle while Rome burnsTo 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.
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    "Fiddle While Rome Burns." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/fiddle-while-rome-burns_44657>.

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