plinky-plonky
/ˈplɪŋkiˌplɑŋki/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
30
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Especially of a musical instrument such as a piano: making sharp, tinny sounds; plinky.
Informal
Example Sentences
- ""Plinky Plonky" is the title of a novelty fox-trot waltz, the composition of Mr. Harry Slogden, which is one of the features of the Drury Lane pantomime, and promises to be a very successful number."
- "The combination which gets nearest to having ensemble Swing as we now know it is King Oliver's. This seems to be due to the fact that, in spite of the inevitable plinky-plonky banjo, it has the best rhythm section."
- "The banjoists in particular eschewed the plinky-plonky upstrokes that the dance bands of the period favoured, and instead kept a steady and uncluttered four-in-a-bar going which was complemented by the 'walking' left-hand arpeggios of pianist Lil Hardin."
- "And when I do my piano practice in the parlour, the piano sounds very thin and plinky-plonky. I think it's quite old because the keys are yellow, much smaller than our Bechstein and the candle-holders are still on it."
- "The Hunt for Red October […] Potentially a very good game, but ruined by both poor graphics and sound. […] [I]f you can put up with the plinky plonky sound and jerky graphics there is still something of a game to be salvaged from the wreckage."
- "[I]t was just a plinky-plonky piano thing that would serve you just as well at the airport as at your funeral."
Etymology
Etymology tree English plink Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English plinky English plonk ▲ English -y English plonky English plinky-plonky From plinky + plonky, a reduplication of plinky. Plinky is derived from plink (“to make a plink sound”, verb) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’); and plonky from plonk (“(noun) sound of something solid landing; (verb) to set or toss (something) down carelessly”) + -y. Both plink and plonk are onomatopoeic.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈplɪŋkiˌplɑŋki/
- British English: /ˈplɪŋkiˌplɒŋki/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Music.
Inflected Forms
more plinky-plonky (comparative)
most plinky-plonky (superlative)