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

Already playing the proto-rock of skiffle, Nash skipped school to score tickets to see Bill Haley & His Comets with Clarke, days after his 15th birthday.

From New York Times

It soon became a favorite in the British folk-music scene and a radio hit; it even made it into the repertoire of Liverpool skiffle band, the Quarrymen, sung by a teenage John Lennon.

From Washington Post

Lennon's skiffle group The Quarrymen rehearsed at 25 Upton Green when he, Harrison and fellow member Paul McCartney were teenagers.

From BBC

As teenagers, they rehearsed with Lennon's skiffle group The Quarrymen, which included Paul McCartney, at Harrison's home.

From BBC

They became friendly with the young John Brierley, a musician himself, and later sat in with his local skiffle group The Vikings during a performance at the Queen's Hotel pub in the village.

From BBC