fiddling

Updike stuck up for himself when faced with the magazine’s intrusively correct fiddling: In 1958 he sent one editor, William Maxwell, an unwavering paragraph against a single word.

Beckett was famously unforgiving when it came to fiddling with his works; his estate would not likely countenance egregious diversions from the “Godot” text.

Stone, who seems more interested in fiddling with his sunglasses than discussing grip technique, soon wanders away to climb beneath the bleachers with another little boy.

But opining that late-night’s problems could be solved by its hosts taking up fiddling instead of calling attention to the malevolent arsonists setting fire to the nation only proves Leno hasn’t looked around much lately.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently recommended downplaying the Spring Statement with a looser borrowing target, to prevent the need for constant fiddling of tax and spend plans.