fake book

American  

noun

1. a collection of lead sheets for musicians, especially a songbook of standards for use by jazz instrumentalists.

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Etymology

Origin of fake book

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

The warmth of the family melodrama that powers the internal core of the narrative and provides the impetus to push Monk forward with the fake book tends to declaw the social commentary.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2023

Thousands of jokes are made each day on Twitter consisting, for example, of fake book titles on some iconoclastic theme.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2013

These tunes are nothing like those to be found in a standards fake book.

From Time Magazine Archive

I go to a music store and buy a fake book of jazz standards.

From Time Magazine Archive

He crammed the rest of his pie into the fake book, as did the others.

From Baseball Joe on the School Nine or, Pitching for the Blue Banner by Chadwick, Lester