[mir-li-ton; Fr. meer-lee-tawn] 
[chahy-oh-tee] | 1. | a tropical American vine, Sechium edule, of the gourd family, having triangular leaves and small, white flowers. |
| 2. | the green or white, furrowed, usually pear-shaped, edible fruit of this plant. |
[kuh-zoo] | 1. | a musical toy consisting of a tube that is open at both ends and has a hole in the side covered with parchment or membrane, which produces a buzzing sound when the performer hums into one end. Also called mirliton. |
| 2. | Slang.
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| cha·yo·te (chä-yō'tā, -tě) n. In both senses also called christophene; also called regionally mirliton.
[Spanish, from Nahuatl chayotli.] |
| mir·li·ton (mîr'lĭ-tŏn', mîr-lē-tôɴ') n. Southern Louisiana See chayote. [Louisiana French, from French, toy reed flute, tube-shaped pastry, perhaps of imitative origin.] |
"Kazoos, the great musical wonder, ... anyone can play it; imitates fowls, animals, bagpipes, etc." [1895 Montgomery Ward catalogue, p.245]
mirliton
pseudomusical instrument or device in which sound waves produced by the player's voice or by an instrument vibrate a membrane, thereby imparting a buzzing quality to the vocal or instrumental sound. A common mirliton is the kazoo, in which the membrane is set in the wall of a short tube into which the player vocalizes. Tissue paper and a comb constitute a homemade mirliton. Mirlitons are also set in the walls of some flutes (e.g., the Chinese ti) and xylophone resonators to colour the tone. The mirliton is one of the few membranophones (membrane instruments) not sounded by percussion.
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