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barrelhouse

[ bar-uhl-hous ]

noun

, plural bar·rel·hous·es [bar, -, uh, l-hou-ziz]
  1. a cheap saloon, especially one in New Orleans in the early part of the 20th century: so called from the racks of liquor barrels originally placed along the walls.
  2. a vigorous style of jazz originating in the barrelhouses of New Orleans in the early part of the 20th century.


barrelhouse

/ ˈbærəlˌhaʊs /

noun

  1. a cheap and disreputable drinking establishment
    1. a vigorous and unpolished style of jazz for piano, originating in the barrelhouses of New Orleans
    2. ( as modifier )

      barrelhouse blues

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of barrelhouse1

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; barrel + house
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Example Sentences

She snagged a piano and pounded out barrelhouse runs in quirky time as I carried the main thread of the movement on a cello.

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