come-all-ye

American  

[kuhm-awl-yee] / ˈkʌmˌɔlˌyi /

Also come-all-you

noun

1. a street ballad, especially in England.

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come-all-ye British  

/ -jiː, kəˈmɔːljə /

noun

1. a street ballad or folk song

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Etymology

Origin of come-all-ye

First recorded in 1885–90; after the invitation that often forms the opening line of such ballads

Example Sentences

The Open East festival is a come-all-ye event to help get things under way.

From The Guardian • Jul. 27, 2013

All the merit I can claim is the ability to rhyme a limerick or sing a "come-all-ye" in a manner perhaps not unpleasing to my friends.

From By Trench and Trail in Song and Story by MacKay, Angus

The penny poet changed from the high grace notes of "The Red-Haired Man's Wife" to the surge of a come-all-ye.

From The Wind Bloweth by Donn-Byrne, Brian Oswald

There was a man in our mess—a Wicklow man be th' name iv Dwyer—that had th' best come-all-ye I iver heerd.

From Mr. Dooley: In the Hearts of His Countrymen by Dunne, Finley Peter

Oh, Ward, for heaven's sake don't be singing that come-all-ye at the top of your voice, like that.

From The Ranch at the Wolverine by Bower, B. M.