n. Trifling; useless or unimportant doings; fidgeting with the fingers or hands.
Tri fling; trivial; fussily busy with nothing.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
adj. (informal) small and of little importance
Word Usage
"Dr Patrick, who researched the subject for a PhD, said: The academics call this ‘gaming’ but front line police officers would call it fiddling the figures, massaging the books or, the current favourite term, ‘good housekeeping’."