Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Jazz, folk, or country music played by performers who use unconventional instruments, such as kazoos, washboards, or jugs, sometimes in combination with conventional instruments.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A type of
folk music, withjazz andblues influences , usinghomemade orimprovised instruments .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a style of popular music in the 1950s; based on American folk music and played on guitars and improvised percussion instruments
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Country blues groups in the pre-war American south were sometimes described as skiffle acts, but it was Glasgow-born Lonnie Donegan who popularised the idea of making music with improvised instruments such as a washboard and tea-chest bass in the mid-50s.
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Country blues groups in the pre-war American south were sometimes described as skiffle acts, but it was Glasgow-born Lonnie Donegan who popularised the idea of making music with improvised instruments such as a washboard and tea-chest bass in the mid-50s.
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But knowing that it does adds meaning and weight to each moment, especially when John discovers his idol, Elvis Presley, his fledgling "skiffle" band embarks on its first performances and John is introduced to two promising young musicians named Paul and George.
Jonathan Kim: ReThink Review: Nowhere Boy -- On His 70th Birthday, Lennon as a Lad Jonathan Kim 2010
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But knowing that it does adds meaning and weight to each moment, especially when John discovers his idol, Elvis Presley, his fledgling "skiffle" band embarks on its first performances and John is introduced to two promising young musicians named Paul and George.
Jonathan Kim: ReThink Review: Nowhere Boy -- On His 70th Birthday, Lennon as a Lad Jonathan Kim 2010
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"It's an Italian term and it's short for the word skiffle and skiffle means disgusting but it doesn't really mean disgusting in the way we use that word in English.
unknown title 2009
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It's a rare reunion for the Old Line Skiffle Combo, a Maryland six-piece that plays traditional skiffle and rockabilly tunes using everything from a washboard to pedal-steel guitar to recreate the shufflin' '50s vibe.
Nightlife Agenda: Parties for a long weekend Fritz Hahn 2011
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But Bean has set the action in 1963 in Brighton, and the key point is that Francis Henshall, a failed skiffle player, finds himself working for two guvnors.
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For good measure there is even a prefatory skiffle session and musical interludes by Grant Olding.
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Set in Brighton in 1963 on the cusp of Beatlemania, there's a terrific skiffle band playing before each act, and each principal actor takes a solo turn on a bizarre instrument, ranging from washboard to tuned car-horns.
Small-Screen Stars Shine on Stage Paul Levy 2011
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It's a shame that TV channels keep on making reality shows following Paris Hilton around or scripting the lives of the young and dumb for our amusement when they could be catch a psychedelic hippy skiffle group as they surf a drug- and BBQ chicken-powered wave across America.
trivet commented on the word skiffle
Skiffle is a type of folk music with a jazz and blues influence, usually using homemade or improvised instruments such as the washboard, tea chest bass, kazoo, cigar-box fiddle, musical saw, comb and paper, and so forth, as well as more conventional instruments such as acoustic guitar and banjo. Skiffle and jug band music are closely related...The Oxford English Dictionary states that skiffle was a slang term for "rent party"...Originally, skiffle groups were referred to as spasm bands.
September 2, 2007
john commented on the word skiffle
John Lennon's high school band, The Quarrymen, was a skiffle band.
September 3, 2007
skipvia commented on the word skiffle
Ska always makes me think of Skiffle, not because of the music but because of the association with the Beatles and beat music and because the names are somewhat similar. See Free Association.
February 13, 2008