skiffle

[ skif-uhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

, skif·fled, skif·fling.

skiffle

[ skif-uhl ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

a jazz style of the 1920s deriving from blues, ragtime, and folk music, played by bands made up of both standard and improvised instruments.
a style of popular music developed in England during the 1950s, deriving from hillbilly music and rock-'n'-roll, and played on a heterogeneous group of instruments, as guitar, washboard, ceramic jug, washtub, and kazoo.

skiffle

/ ˈskɪfəl /

skiffle

/ ˈskɪfəl /

a style of popular music of the 1950s, played chiefly on guitars and improvised percussion instruments

Origin of skiffle¹

Perhaps akin to scabble

Origin of skiffle²

First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain

Origin of skiffle¹

from Scottish skiff, from skiff to move lightly, probably changed from skift, from Old Norse skipta shift

Origin of skiffle²

C20: of unknown origin

You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.

Browse