Jew's harp
1
9.8
- noun
- /dʒuːz hɑrp/
:
arpa judía
- Oh, I play the Jew's harp a little and enjoy its unique tones.
- playing the Jew's harp
Examples
-
At every step, the wood handles at either end bounced, and the big blade hummed and sproinged like the music of a Jew's harp.
Fiction book (1997) -
Ragusa surprised no one at the end of the evening by pulling out a Jew's harp.
Blog text (22) -
They worked with whatever they picked up—trombones and little Jew's harps, a concertina and a limberjack.
Fiction book (1997) -
A bearded man with a bulbous nose and only one good eye, Mr. Bondurant repays our hospitality by playing his Jew's harp while we sing and telling us stories about life on the Great Plains.
Fiction book (1997) -
On the grassy esplanade, a young boy performs with a Jew's harp, accompanied by throat singing, imitating the cries of animals.
-
The Jew's harp is an underrated instrument that can produce a variety of enchanting sounds.
Synonyms
A small metal instrument you hold between your teeth and pluck to make music
How Loud
Surface Forms
Morphology
Jew's + harp
The word 'harp' clearly signals a musical instrument, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer it refers to some kind of instrument; however, the term does not indicate the actual type or playing method (it is not a true harp but a mouth/jaw instrument). The possessive 'Jew's' is etymologically unclear and may mislead or add no transparent semantic clue, so the exact meaning is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Jew's harp may get its name from an old word for 'jaw' or from the French 'jeu' meaning 'game'. Picture a small metal harp held between the teeth and plucked while you change the shape of your mouth, and that's why the name refers to a tiny instrument you play in your mouth.