buck and wing


noun
  1. a tap dance derived in style from Irish clog dances and Black social dances, marked especially by vigorous hopping, flinging of the legs, and clicking of the heels.

Origin of buck and wing

1
An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Words Nearby buck and wing

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use buck and wing in a sentence

  • In the center of the room was a large man dancing a fair buck-and-wing to the time so uproariously set by his companions.

    Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up | Clarence Edward Mulford
  • Bottger insisted that the buck-and-wing and the double shuffle and other forms of jiggery were low.

    We Can't Have Everything | Rupert Hughes
  • Whereupon two or three youngsters jumped out and performed a good imitation of a buck-and-wing dance.

    Negritos of Zambales | William Allan Reed
  • Sleepdep came down on him like a hammer as he checked in for his flight and began the ritual security-clearing buck-and-wing.

    Makers | Cory Doctorow
  • Roland's heart executed the opening steps of a buck-and-wing dance.

    A Man of Means | P. G. Wodehouse and C. H. Bovill

British Dictionary definitions for buck and wing

buck and wing

noun
  1. US a boisterous tap dance, derived from Black and Irish clog dances

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012