tickle the ivories
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Play the piano, as in He went on tickling the ivories until three in the morning. This expression alludes to a piano's keys, traditionally made of ivory. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]
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Words nearby tickle the ivories
tickled pink, tickle one's fancy, tickler, tickler coil, tickler file, tickle the ivories, ticklish, tickly, Ticknor, tick off, tick over
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.