Also called steam organ. a musical instrument consisting of a set of harsh-sounding steam whistles that are activated by a keyboard.
(initial capital letter) Also Kalliope the Muse of heroic poetry.
1855–60, < Latin < Greek Kalliópē, equivalent to kalli- calli- + op- (stem of óps ) voice + -ē feminine ending
A calliope is an old-fashioned, steam powered musical instrument. While a calliope is played using a piano keyboard, the sound is so loud it can often be heard from miles away. During the Industrial Revolution, steam was used to power all sorts of things, from trains to riverboats to circus carousels. Calliopes were invented as a perfect accompaniment to this "age of steam." Calliopes were known for their loud, harsh tones that sound very similar to train whistles. Even though no one would argue that a calliope sounds lovely, the name comes from the beautiful-voiced Greek Muse Kalliope.
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Then we went through our industrial phase: The calliope appeared atop a plume of pressurized steam in the early 1850s.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 16, 2023
Try a few, crank up the calliope and make your own show.
From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2021
The Natchez played a calliope tribute, the first time the calliope has been heard in weeks after the boat stopped its tours.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 3, 2020
Her six-year-old feet skimming swiftly over battered gray grass, twinkly, too-bright colored lights, shards of mirror, the wild music of a steam calliope.
From The Verge ● Feb. 8, 2019
It was the steam calliope on the Case Special, flinging a tune to the four winds.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
She also was known for portraying dressmaker Calliope Jones on “Days of Our Lives.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2023
In addition to originating the voice of Harley Quinn, Sorkin was known for portraying dressmaker Calliope Jones on “Days of Our Lives.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2023
He handed her an issue of Gaiman’s epic “The Sandman” that features the muse Calliope.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 24, 2022
Smyth-McMullen reshapes Calliope into a goddess who was trapped but not resigned to her exploitation.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2022
“Thought you could use a spare. I have a lot of these lying around. I journal a lot, or I used to before I took over the Calliope for my parents.”
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
