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skiffle
1[ skif-uhl ]
/ ˈskɪf əl /
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verb (used with object), skif·fled, skif·fling.
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Origin of skiffle
1Perhaps akin to scabble
Words nearby skiffle
Other definitions for skiffle (2 of 2)
skiffle2
[ skif-uhl ]
/ ˈskɪf əl /
noun
a jazz style of the 1920s deriving from blues, ragtime, and folk music, played by bands made up of both standard and improvised instruments.
a style of popular music developed in England during the 1950s, deriving from hillbilly music and rock-'n'-roll, and played on a heterogeneous group of instruments, as guitar, washboard, ceramic jug, washtub, and kazoo.
Origin of skiffle
2First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use skiffle in a sentence
You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.
British Dictionary definitions for skiffle (1 of 2)
skiffle1
/ (ˈskɪfəl) /
noun
a style of popular music of the 1950s, played chiefly on guitars and improvised percussion instruments
Word Origin for skiffle
C20: of unknown origin
British Dictionary definitions for skiffle (2 of 2)
skiffle2
/ (ˈskɪfəl) /
noun
Ulster dialect a drizzlea skiffle of rain
Word Origin for skiffle
from Scottish skiff, from skiff to move lightly, probably changed from skift, from Old Norse skipta shift
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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