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come-all-ye

American  
[kuhm-awl-yee] / ˈkʌmˌɔlˌji /
Also come-all-you

noun

  1. a street ballad, especially in England.


come-all-ye British  
/ kəˈmɔːljə, -jiː /

noun

  1. a street ballad or folk song

"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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

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

From The Guardian ● Jul. 27, 2013

"I was lookin' for him to bust out in grand-opry, or something else that's a heap more stylish than his old come-all-ye."

From The Long Shadow by B. M. Bower

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 B. M. Bower

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 Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne

Mary was sewing beside the stove, and Pat was mumbling over the first verse of a new "come-all-ye."

From The Harbor Master by Theodore Goodridge Roberts

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