hand organ
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of hand organ
An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800
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.
Another time he appeared in Chester town square, bishop's gaiters & all, grinding a hand organ to help raise money for the Royal Infirmary.
From Time Magazine Archive
Cassi had come to the town some twenty years before with a hand organ and a monkey.
From The Blood of the Conquerors by Fergusson, Harvey
It carromed into corner number two, smashing one perfectly good hand organ, freeing an excited monkey, and drawing forth a volley of lurid words from the Italian.
From Owen Clancy's Happy Trail or, The Motor Wizard in California by Standish, Burt L.
A hand organ grinding out the “Sweet By-and-by”, is a thing most of us fail to appreciate.
From Dangerous Ground or, The Rival Detectives by Lynch, Lawrence L.
"Carrying a regal or small hand organ," in left hand, four wings, decayed; apparently bearing a wand in right hand.
From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Dearmer, Percy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
