Diddly-squat
Pronunciation
- US IPA: /ˈdɪd(ə)li skwɑt/
- UK IPA: /ˈdɪdlɪi.skwɒt/
- Rhymes: -É’t
Alternative forms
Origin
The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang suggests that this is a variation of doodly-squat from 1934. Doodly-squat was originally the more common form, but diddly-squat overtook it in the mid-1970s, and is now four times more common in print.
According to Google Books' Ngram Viewer, doodly squat has seen approximately the same level of use since the late 1960s, being more common than diddly squat in the beginning, but being overtaken by it in the mid-1970s; diddly squat is now about four times more common than doodly squat.