banjo clock

noun

1. a clock of the early 19th century in the U.S., having a drumlike case for the dial mounted on a narrow, tapering body, with a boxlike bottom containing the pendulum and its weight.

Word History and Origins

Origin of banjo clock¹

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

Example Sentences

A banjo clock that would never again keep time but had a tiny cupboard where I kept the other trinkets I’d found.

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“Most people actually thought we were landmarked, and we weren’t going to disabuse them of the idea,” Ms. Danischewski said, sitting at her dining room table as a reproduction banjo clock ticked over the original orange-marble fireplace.

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Dear Sirs: I purchased a banjo clock at $13.89 from you on Tuesday.

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So, you see, when a banjo clock comes your way there are various methods by which its genuineness can be tested.

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People are liable to associate him only with the banjo clock that bears his name; but in reality he made clocks of every imaginable description—long-case clocks, tower clocks, gallery clocks, shelf clocks.

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