Bing Crosby

19 4.5

An American singer and film actor known for his smooth deep voice

proper noun
/bɪŋ ˈkrɔːbɪ/

: Bing Crosby

In films like "Holiday Inn," Bing Crosby showcased his legendary singing talent.

Examples

Many consider Bing Crosby to be one of the greatest singers of the 20th century.
Bing Crosby was famous for his recording of 'White Christmas,' which became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Classic holiday movies often feature performances by Bing Crosby.
My grandfather listened to Bing Crosby on the radio every weekend as a child.
Many people consider Bing Crosby one of the greatest singers of all time.
Did you know that Bing Crosby won an Academy Award?
Bing Crosby is celebrated for his timeless hit Bing Crosby.

Surface Forms

Bing Crosby main

Morphology

Bing + Crosby

This is a proper name made of two lexical items that do not carry compositional meanings ('Bing' and 'Crosby' have no dictionary senses here), so knowing the constituents does not let a learner infer that the phrase names an American singer/actor. Proper names are arbitrary, encyclopedic labels that require prior cultural or biographical knowledge rather than compositional decoding, making this expression unpredictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Bing Crosby became famous in the 1930s and 1940s for his warm, smooth voice and his best-known recording, 'White Christmas'. Because his songs and films were played everywhere, his name now often makes people think of classic, cozy holiday music.