Nero Fiddled Pillow

Nero fiddled is a common saying, meaning to do something trivial and irresponsible in the midst of an emergency. Legend has it that while a fire destroyed the city of Rome, the emperor Nero played his cithara, a stringed instrument like a lyre, which was perhaps replaced by the more universally recognized word 'fiddle', and thus revealing his total lack of concern for his people and his empire.