hootenanny
[hoot-n-an-ee, hoot-nan-]
- a social gathering or informal concert featuring folk singing and, sometimes, dancing.
- an informal session at which folk singers and instrumentalists perform for their own enjoyment.
- Older Use. a thingumbob.
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Origin of hootenanny
First recorded in 1910–15; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hootenanny
Contemporary Examples
The first four letters in hootenanny spell hoot -- and The Seeger Sessions was fun -- with a purpose.
The hootenanny on political websites about the contest being up for grabs is shilling for advertising dollars.
hootenanny
hootnanny (ˈhuːtˌnænɪ)
- an informal performance by folk singers
- mainly US something the name of which is unspecified or forgotten
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Word Origin
C20: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hootenanny
n.
"informal session of folk musicians," 1940, American English, earlier "a gadget" (1927), of unknown origin, perhaps a nonsense word.
Another device used by the professional car thief, and one recently developed to perfection, according to a large Chicago lock-testing laboratory, is a "hootenanny," so-called by the criminals using it. ["Popular Mechanics," February 1931]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper