skiffle

¹

[ skif-uhl ]

verb (used with object)

, skif·fled, skif·fling.

1. knob ( def 7 ).

skiffle

²

[ skif-uhl ]

noun

1. a jazz style of the 1920s deriving from blues, ragtime, and folk music, played by bands made up of both standard and improvised instruments.
2. 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.

skiffle

¹

/ ˈskɪfəl /

noun

1. dialect.
   a drizzle

   a skiffle of rain

skiffle

²

/ ˈskɪfəl /

noun

1. a style of popular music of the 1950s, played chiefly on guitars and improvised percussion instruments

Word History and Origins

Origin of skiffle¹

Perhaps akin to scabble

Origin of skiffle²

First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of skiffle¹

from Scottish skiff, from skiff to move lightly, probably changed from skift, from Old Norse skipta shift

Origin of skiffle²

C20: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.

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