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

skiffle

²

/ ˈskɪfəl /

noun

1. dialect.
   a drizzle

   a skiffle of rain

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

C20: of unknown origin

Origin of skiffle²

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

Example Sentences

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

From The Daily Beast