Green’s Dictionary of Slang

insignificant, unimportant.

1869		Routledge’s Every Boy’s Annual 589: He had visited each of them [...] and while there had performed some ‘tiddly-winking’ work, that is he had shifted a few spadesful of earth .
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 May 14/2: One day a swaggie came and asked for work. ‘Any kind of work, Mr. Dow; not partikler, any kind of tiddly-winkin’ work, you know.’.
1902		Truth (Sydney) 21 Dec. 6/4: This everlasting mag about what would please the capitalists of the ‘Far East’ that was due North-west, was all tiddly-winking tommyrot.
1927		Star Gaz. (Elmira, NY) 28 Apr. 2/3: Your correspondent sat within tiddley-winking distance of [the] Senators.
1929		Sydney Morn. Herald 27 Nov. 18/5: The Leader of the Opposition [...] said that the Council should not be compelled to appeal to the Minister on ‘tiddley-winking’ matters.
1933		R. Tate Doughman 20: I’d like your old tiddly-winkin’ job. Easy run?
1945		Sydney Morn. Herald 26 Nov. 5/2: Naish acts so beautifully that belated exemption from tiddley-winking parts in future seems assured for him.
1949		Hawaii Trib.-Herald 29 Mar. 4/3: Tiddley-winkng occupations such as basket making are a waste of time.