tickle the ivories

Slang Dictionary

tickle the ivories definition


  1. tv.
    to play the piano. : I used to be able to tickle the ivories real nice.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Tickle the ivories is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

tickle the ivories

Play the piano, as in He went on tickling the ivories until three in the morning. This expression alludes to a piano's keys, traditionally made of ivory. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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