organ grinder
/ˈɔɹɡən ˌɡɹaɪndəɹ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.26 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The player of a barrel organ.
noun
The person who is in charge, rather than a lackey or representative; the person truly responsible for another's actions.
Example Sentences
- "There is one beautiful sight in the East End, and only one, and it is the children dancing in the street when the organ-grinder goes his round."
- "The organ-grinders were at work; but they were always precocious harbingers. It was near enough spring for them to go penny-hunting when the skating ball dropped at the park."
- "“You should read Spanish,” he said. “It is a noble tongue. It has not the mellifluousness of Italian, Italian is the language of tenors and organ-grinders, but it has grandeur: it does not ripple like a brook in a garden, but it surges tumultuous like a mighty river in flood.”"
- "Thus the vision of humanity appeared to be in some way connected with Bloomsbury, and faded distinctly by the time she crossed the main road; then a belated organ-grinder in Holborn set her thoughts dancing incongruously; […]"
- "Those who cannot play any instrument wheel a gramophone through the streets on a barrow, but the largest number of these street musicians are organ grinders."
- "I want to speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey."
Etymology
From the repetitive grinding involved in playing a barrel organ. In figurative senses, from the common 19th-century practice of training monkeys to dance to an organ grinder's music in order to perform on the street and solicit donations and spare change.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɔɹɡən ˌɡɹaɪndəɹ/
- British English: /ˈɔːɡən ˌɡɹaɪndə/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Music.