Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

may-day sweep

/meɪ deɪ swip/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.96 in modern English

Syllables: may--day sweep
IPA: /meɪ deɪ swip/

25

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One of the sweeps (chimney sweeps), clad in bright clothes and garlands and carrying a blackened broom, in a May Day parade.

Example Sentences

"The common herd of mortals invent excuses : they shuffle like a May-day sweep, and lie like the prospectus of a new Magazine."
"[…] preceded by a drum and fife, and followed by the successful marksman, who, dressed out with flowers and ribands as fantastically as a May-day sweep in England, expressed his joy by dancing and pirouetting amidst his friends, who congratulated and cheered him."
"Thanks to certain alchemic pens, which have touched even garbage to gold-paper, murder has been as fine, and withal as jocund among us, as a May-day sweep."
"Brown and Emily Bustleton are whirling round as light as two pigeons over a dove-cot; Tozer, with that wicked whisking little Jones, spins along as merrily as a May-day sweep; Miss Joy is The partner of the happy Fred."
"[…] but anything would have been better than sitting at table with a thing only fit for a May-day sweep on one's head."

Etymology

From May Day (“workers' spring holiday”) + sweep (“ellipsis of chimney sweep”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /meɪ deɪ swip/
British English: /meɪ deɪ swiːp/

Inflected Forms

May-day sweeps (plural) May Day sweep (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce may-day sweep?: The recorded pronunciation is /meɪ deɪ swip/.
What does may-day sweep mean?: One of the sweeps (chimney sweeps), clad in bright clothes and garlands and carrying a blackened broom, in a May Day parade.
Where does may-day sweep come from?: From May Day (“workers' spring holiday”) + sweep (“ellipsis of chimney sweep”).

How to pronounce may-day sweep

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “may-day sweep”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/meɪ deɪ swip/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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