To occupy oneself with unimportant matters and neglect priorities during a crisis.
Origin: (The source of this phrase is the story that
Nero played the fiddle (violin) while Rome Burned during the Great Fire in
AD 64).
duskins: "Just waiting for the
time to be ideal!"
Zavah: "That
time is never going to exist,why are you fiddling while Rome
burns?"
duskins: . . . "oh f***." >_<