to carry a note in a bucket
- idiom
- Informal
:
no saber cantar
- Despite his enthusiasm, Jake really can't carry a note in a bucket when he sings.
Examples
-
She was so cheerful at parties, even though she couldn't carry a note in a bucket.
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Even with voice lessons, he admitted he would never carry a note in a bucket.
-
He can't carry a note in a bucket!
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My friend carries a note in a bucket when he sings.
-
Despite his enthusiasm, Jake really can't carry a note in a bucket when he sings.
-
Even with voice lessons, he admitted he would never carry a note in a bucket.
-
She was so cheerful at parties, even though she couldn't carry a note in a bucket.
Synonyms
To sing very badly and out of tune
Antonyms
How In Tune
Surface Forms
Morphology
carry + a + note + in + a + bucket
Although 'carry a note' can relate to producing/maintaining pitch, the addition 'in a bucket' is an arbitrary, humorous image and does not yield the specific meaning 'completely unable to sing in tune' by composition. This phrase is an idiomatic exaggeration whose overall sense is language-specific and not predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner would likely not infer the meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom carry a note in a bucket gives a funny image: if you put a musical note in a bucket, the sound would be muffled or fall out. So the picture shows someone who cannot 'carry' a tune, and the phrase means 'to be completely unable to sing in tune'.