Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tickle the ivories

/ˌtik(ə)l ði ˈaɪv(ə)ɹiz/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.02 in modern English

Syllables: tick-le the ivo-ries
IPA: /ˌtik(ə)l ði ˈaɪv(ə)ɹiz/

28

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

3

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To play a piano or other keyboard instrument.

Informal; Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"[…] Charles Jarvis, the Philadelphia pianist, […] tickled the ivories with old time unction and gave some of the audience the impression that Philadelphia was really a musical city."
"In music the Company now stands very high. Our singing strength surpasses anything known in the history of the command. It was feared that there would be no one to spar with the piano when Charley Moran left us, but you just ought to see the Leussen brothers tickle the ivories."
"I don't think your musical friend is much on the grub-box. Has to keep her hands white to tickle the ivories."
"In stroll Harpo [Marx] with his $12,000 harp (and he plays it, too), and Chico [Marx], who tickles the ivories in anything from jazz to Beethoven, and the party is complete."
"[Henry Louis] Mencken, more a music lover than a musician, sometimes tickled the ivories in a repertory of Beethoven, Bach, Strauss and W[illiam] C[hristopher] Handy."
"The highlight of these evenings was when the band set up— […] Men in gold lamé suits with crushed velvet collars and black trim on the pockets took the platform—you hesitated to call it a stage—and started tickling the ivories, plucking the bass, and—our favorite of all—brushing the snare drum: Ch-che-che, ch-che-che, ch-che-che."

Etymology

From tickle (“to touch (something) lightly”) + the + ivories (“(informal) keys of a piano or other keyboard instrument”) (from the fact that such keys used to be made from ivory).

Word Breakdown

Root: *leb-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌtik(ə)l ði ˈaɪv(ə)ɹiz/
British English: /ˌtikl̩ ðiː ˈaɪv(ə)ɹiz/

Usage

Inflected Forms

tickles the ivories (present, singular) tickling the ivories (participle, present) tickled the ivories (participle, past) tickled the ivories (past) tickle the ivory (alternative) tickle the ivory keys (alternative) tinkle the ivories (alternative)

Phrases

ivory tickler play music

Frequently Paired Words

ivory tickler play music

Questions

How do you pronounce tickle the ivories?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌtik(ə)l ði ˈaɪv(ə)ɹiz/.
What does tickle the ivories mean?: To play a piano or other keyboard instrument.
Where does tickle the ivories come from?: From tickle (“to touch (something) lightly”) + the + ivories (“(informal) keys of a piano or other keyboard instrument”) (from the fact that such keys used to be made from ivory).

How to pronounce tickle the ivories

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