Jews' harp
- noun
- /dʒuz hɑrp/
:
arpa de boca
- She played a cheerful tune on her jews' harp during the family gathering.
Examples
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As a child, he loved to entertain his friends by playing the jews' harp at campfires.
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The jews' harp is an ancient instrument that produces a unique sound.
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And here and there a jew's-harp
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Harpo Marx playing the jew's-harp.
Synonyms
1
9.8
A small metal instrument held between the teeth and played by plucking to make different tones
Surface Forms
Morphology
Jews' + harp
The word 'harp' cues that this is a musical instrument, so learners will likely guess it is some kind of instrument, but the name is historically misleading: a Jews' harp is not a stringed harp but a small mouth-played metal lamellophone and the possessive 'Jews\'' is etymologically opaque. Because part of the meaning (that it is an instrument) is recoverable from the constituents but the crucial details and the possessive element are unpredictable without prior exposure, it is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Jews' harp may come from an older name, jaw's harp. Players hold it 'between the teeth' and pluck a small metal tongue while changing the shape of the mouth, so the image of a 'jaw harp' helps explain why the name fits this little mouth instrument.