First recorded in 1585–95; perhaps jocular; earlier called Jew's trump
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It sounds something like a Jew’s harp, but much louder.
From Slate • Sep. 30, 2018
At the same instant something sang past my ear like the twang of a Jew's harp, my foot caught in a coil of wire, and I fell headlong.
From Leaves from a Field Note-Book by Morgan, John Hartman
"Well, I used ter play a Jew's harp a leetle."
From The Adventures of Uncle Jeremiah and Family at the Great Fair Their Observations and Triumphs by Stevens, C. M. (Charles McClellan)
In giving some account of the Jew's harp, considered as a medium for musical sounds, we shall only present the result of his discoveries.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 269, August 18, 1827 by Various
Gentlemen, they will sound like something between a musette and a Jew's harp, when you are near to the player; they will not be heard at all some yards away!
From Violin Making 'The Strad' Library, No. IX. by Mayson, Walter H. (Walter Henry)
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.
