organ grinder

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noun

an itinerant street musician who earns a living by playing a hand organ or hurdy-gurdy.

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showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

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Origin of organ grinder

First recorded in 1800–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use organ grinder in a sentence

The brain, also an organ, is particularly sensitive to the loss of oxygen.
What It’s Like to Wake Up Dead|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, the body would ultimately have rejected the organ transplant.
Jon Stewart and 'Meet The Press' Would Have Been One Unhappy Marriage|Lloyd Grove|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But in Jersey City the fight goes on, with fabulous organ accompaniment.
6 Must-Read Stories of Blondie, Spies and Riotous Feminists: The Best of The Beast|The Daily Beast|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the film starts, the organ sinks back down below the stage where the musician can be heard and not seen.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso|Rich Goldstein|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

To easily switch between sounds, the organ is outfitted with dozens of preset buttons like the kind found in old radios.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso|Rich Goldstein|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But he forgot the stagnant town, the bald-headed man at the club window, the organ and "The Manola."
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens
In the first case “I” stands for the person using it, and in the last case it means the organ of sight.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
The primal rigidity of the straight line yields later on to the freedom of an organ.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Of course there had been no organ in this church before, or the worthy deacon might have known more about it.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller
The flute, a component part of the organ, is one of the most ancient of musical instruments.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building|George Laing Miller

British Dictionary definitions for organ grinder

organ-grinder

noun

a street musician playing a hand organ for money

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012