Scotch snap
Britishnoun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of Scotch snap
C19: so named because it is characteristic of, though not exclusive to, Scottish dance music, esp that for strathspeys
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The New York critic Henry Krehbiel gave a sneak preview in the Tribune the day before the premiere, arguing that it projected a truly American character through its blend of ethnic musical traits like the folky, syncopated “Scotch snap” and “the mood inspired by the contemplation of Indian legend and romance.”
From New York Times
The set’s concluding Gavot takes on Scottish bagpipe colors, with some wrong-note grace notes in the opening drone and plenty of Scotch snap rhythms .
From Washington Post
Marcello Panni conducts with a Scotch snap.
From Time Magazine Archive
The "Scotch snap" is a constant rhythmic device, the old scale and the old Scottish cadences seem to be native to his heart.
From Project Gutenberg
The third consists of the mannerism known as the “Scotch snap,” and is a rhythmic device which probably originated in that trick of jumping from one register of the voice to another, which has always had a fascination for people of simple natures.
From Project Gutenberg
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.
