hootenanny

American  

[hoot-n-an-ee, hoot-nan-] / ˈhut nˌæn i, ˈhutˌnæn- /

noun

plural

hootenannies

1. a social gathering or informal concert featuring folk singing and, sometimes, dancing.

2. an informal session at which folk singers and instrumentalists perform for their own enjoyment.

3. Older Use. thingamajig.

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hootenanny British  

/ ˈhuːtˌnænɪ, ˈhuːtəˌnænɪ /

noun

1. an informal performance by folk singers

2. something the name of which is unspecified or forgotten

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Etymology

Origin of hootenanny

First recorded in 1910–15; origin uncertain

Explanation

A hootenanny is a lively folk music party or performance. If you're invited to a hootenanny, bring your fiddle or come prepared to sing along! When hootenanny first appeared in American English, it was an informal word for "gadget," a generic placeholder like thingamajig or doodad. It came to mean "impromptu party with music" in some rural regions and was adopted in the 1940s for gatherings held by folk musicians including Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Hootenannies reached the height of popularity in the 1960s, but you can throw one today by getting together with friends to play and sing music!

Example Sentences

The Joni Jam had the vibe of a campfire hootenanny crossed with a music nerd’s dream storyteller sesh.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 11, 2023

In 1972, Time Magazine said the holiday had become “a three-day nationwide hootenanny that seems to have lost much of its original purpose.”

From Washington Times • May 26, 2023

Add to that mix the consistently funny Ronny Chieng and Billie Lourd, and we’ve got a hootenanny.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2023

The Harlem Cultural Festival of that year, which would come to be known as “Black Woodstock,” had, on its surface, little in common with the upstate hootenanny.

From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2019

It seem like every night she and him was putting on a regular hootenanny.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole