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slack-key

[ slak-kee ]
/ ˈslækˌki /
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noun Also slack key .
a style of Hawaiian popular music played on an acoustic guitar with strings tuned to notes lower than standard guitar tuning for more bass resonance.
adjective
noting or pertaining to this style of music.
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Origin of slack-key

First recorded in 1975–80; slack1 (in the sense “loose, not taut”) + key1; translation of Hawaiian kī hō‘alu, equivalent to “key” + hō‘alu “slack”
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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