Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience.
- noun Informal An unidentified or unidentifiable gadget.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An informal social gathering or concert featuring mostly folk songs, sometimes dancing, and where the audience often participates in the singing.
- noun Obsolescent, chiefly dial. Same as
whatchamacallit ; a thingumbob.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
Placeholder word for anonspecific orforgotten thing (seethingamajig ,whatchamacallit ) - noun An
informal ,festive performance byfolk singers , often includingaudience participation with the use of acoustic instruments.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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She was often the only Almanac with a steady job, which -- along with regular "hootenanny" song parties -- helped pay the rent.
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Whenever AFG comes home and hints that we need to put on some kind of hootenanny -- oh, I'm sorry, we need to put on some kind of evening soiree-- my first thought is "What would Melody do?"
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The terror turns up in all kinds of inconvenient places - a "hootenanny," involving folk singing and poor judgment; the backyard of a neglectful mother who is hanging laundry; and an over-packed reception hall where serious partiers in ridiculous outfits are dancing wildly in broad daylight.
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With other band members singing some of Cuomo's leads, a massive onstage "hootenanny" that had fans playing along to acoustic renditions of tracks like "Island in the Sun," and even the surreal sight of Cuomo kicking over a record player (set up pre-encore) before blasting into a cover of Nirvana's "Sliver," the band has never been so refreshing.
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With other band members singing some of Cuomo's leads, a massive onstage "hootenanny" that had fans playing along to acoustic renditions of tracks like "Island in the Sun," and even the surreal sight of Cuomo kicking over a record player (set up pre-encore) before blasting into a cover of Nirvana's "Sliver," the band has never been so refreshing.
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With other band members singing some of Cuomo's leads, a massive onstage "hootenanny" that had fans playing along to acoustic renditions of tracks like "Island in the Sun," and even the surreal sight of Cuomo kicking over a record player (set up pre-encore) before blasting into a cover of Nirvana's "Sliver," the band has never been so refreshing.
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And the whole rite was set to a hootenanny guitar beat.
Kate Clinton: Et Cum Spirit Two Two Oh Kate Clinton 2011
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And the whole rite was set to a hootenanny guitar beat.
Kate Clinton: Et Cum Spirit Two Two Oh Kate Clinton 2011
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TV clips from hifi, party record and hootenanny days from the TV shows Playboy's Penthouse and Playboy After Dark feature folk singers Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and rare performances.
Martha Rosenberg: Will Hugh Hefner Be Remembered as a Visionary or a Flesh Peddler? Martha Rosenberg 2011
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Football's biggest game may have glamorous trappings, what with the Madonna hootenanny, the khakis-casual corporate breakfast buffets and the titillating chance of a Joe Theismann sighting, but it can be a bleak curse on the team living in the host city.
treeseed commented on the word hootenanny
a gathering at which folksingers entertain often with the audience joining in, popular in the late 50s and early 60s, also referred to simply as a "hoot"
Are you going to the hoot tonight?
January 22, 2008
uselessness commented on the word hootenanny
I wonder if this is the root behind the phrase "that guy is a hoot!"?
January 23, 2008
asativum commented on the word hootenanny
Wikipedia does say the word was used like thingamajig in the early 20th c. So could be.
And thanks for calling attention to it; I'm adding it to my Shindigs list.
January 23, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hootenanny
I suspect "that guy is a hoot" comes from someone "hooting with laughter" and means that guy is funny or that guy makes me laugh.
hoot: verb
(of people) to make a loud noise of laughter or disapproval
Example: They hooted with laughter.
January 23, 2008
uselessness commented on the word hootenanny
That makes sense. I guess I was equating it more with "party animal" or just "fun guy." :-P
January 23, 2008
delirium commented on the word hootenanny
"Well, a gathering is brie, mellow song stylings; shindig, dip, less mellow song stylings, perhaps a large amount of malt beverage; and hootenanny, well, it's chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny." - Oz, BtVS
November 6, 2010
RevBrently commented on the word hootenanny
Another example to add: "On the night of their departure from Kvitoya, a dozen or so off-duty deckies gathered in the rec room for a kind of eschatological hootenanny, and soon the entire superstructure was resounding with "Rock of Ages," "Kum-Ba-Yah," "Go Down, Moses," "Amazing Grace," A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," and "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."" From pp. 355-356 of Morrow, James (1994). Towing Jehovah. New York: Harcourt.
June 23, 2012