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😒 Morally bad 🕵️ The real facts 🎷 Raw and soulful
low-down

low-down

1 7.9
Sounding raw and soulful like early blues
  • adjective
  • /ˈloʊˌdaʊn/
  • US
translation icon : con sabor a blues
  • The singer's latest album features some low-down jazz tracks that evoke the essence of early blues.

Examples

  • ♪ Billy, don't it make you feel so low-down ♪ To be hunted by the man who was your friend?

    Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

  • Make that low-down music tickle up your spine

    Theodore Rex (1995)

  • Years ago, we started out on the streets, low-down and dirty.

    American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987)

  • Do you wanna see me dance right out my shoe do you wanna see me dance right out my shoe well, then play that old low down chopper blues yeah well, the band starts playing and I lose control the band starts playing and I lose control what you frowning about, baby?

    Lady Sings the Blues (1972)

  • But seein' as how I'm so ignorant and kinda low-down and ornery...

    The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993)

  • Her performance was filled with low-down rhythms that transported the audience back to the roots of jazz.

  • Listening to that low-down sound made me appreciate the raw beauty of jazz music.

Synonyms

funky
vslow-down
17 6.5

Has a strong, soulful rhythm like old jazz

is rawer and evokes early blues rather than a rhythmic groove
bluesy
vslow-down
5 5.5

Like music with a slow, sad sound that shows strong feeling

is raw and evokes early blues rather than sounding simply sad

Antonyms

upbeat
99 3.8

Feeling cheerful and hopeful, sometimes too positive for the situation

high-energy
9 3.7

Very active and full of strong, lively energy

Surface Forms

low-down positive

Morphology

low-down = low (semi-transparent) = down + low

The musical sense 'raw, earthy, bluesy' is a metaphorical extension of 'low'/'down' and is somewhat inferable but specialized. [Postprocessing: moved 'down' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Low-down in music mixes low ('deep') and down (like 'down-home') to give a sense of deep, earthy feeling. So a 'low-down' jazz or blues sound is raw and soulful, with a strong 'blues' feeling.