buck-and-wing

1 9.9

A lively solo tap dance with fast, energetic footwork

noun
/ˈbʌk ənd wɪŋ/

Archaic

: danza buck-and-wing

Examples

Now show me the buck-and-wing break from the first duet-

The Boy Friend (1971)
From the start, Gene was constantly experimenting... ...from classical ballet to a burlesque buck-and-wing.

That's Entertainment! (1974)
He did a brief buck-and-wing in his black vinyl boots that delighted several young women in Raiders jackets.

Fiction book (1996)
During the talent show, she performed a lively buck-and-wing that captivated the audience.
The dancer showed off her skills with a quick buck-and-wing that left everyone cheering.
He practiced the buck-and-wing in his dance class, impressing his teacher with his energetic footwork.

Synonyms

tap dance performance

vsbuck-and-wing

3.7

A dance where dancers make rhythmic sounds by hitting the floor with metal plates on their shoes

is a solo high energy dance with very fast footwork

Surface Forms

buck-and-wing singular

buck-and-wings plural

Morphology

buck-and-wing = buck + wing (opaque) = buck + wing

Although formally a compound of 'buck' and 'wing', the term names a traditional tap-dance step combination and its dance meaning is specialized and not directly inferable from the component words for an average learner.

Etymology

Buck-and-wing joins two dance words: buck, an old name for a dance meaning 'lively' and often done alone, and wing, which suggests a quick, 'wing-like' step. So a buck-and-wing is a fast, showy solo tap dance with energetic footwork.