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organ grinder

organ grinder

noun

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

organ-grinder

noun

a street musician playing a hand organ for money

organ grinder

American

noun

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

organ-grinder British

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

Etymology

Origin of organ grinder

First recorded in 1800–10

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023