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Glite Dictionary
to dance the hucklebuck

to dance the hucklebuck

9.9
To move your body in a lively way with fast steps to music
  • idiom
  • /dæns ðə ˈhʌkəlˌbʌk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : bailar el hucklebuck
  • At the wedding reception, everyone got up to dance the hucklebuck as the band played.

Examples

  • Back in the day, my grandparents would dance the hucklebuck at every family gathering.

  • She taught the children how to dance the hucklebuck during their summer camp talent show.

  • She loves to dance the hucklebuck at parties.

  • Can you dance the hucklebuck with me?

  • At the wedding reception, everyone got up to dance the hucklebuck as the band played.

  • Back in the day, my grandparents would dance the hucklebuck at every family gathering.

  • She taught the children how to dance the hucklebuck during their summer camp talent show.

Synonyms

to dance
vsto dance the hucklebuck
579 1.0

To move quickly and lightly from side to side or up and down

is a specific mid twentieth century rhythmic style rather than general movement
to jigg
vsto dance the hucklebuck
  • Informal
1 9.9

To move your body quickly to lively club music

is a mid twentieth century energetic rhythm and blues dance style

Antonyms

to stand still
75 1.0

Stay upright in one place without moving

to sit still
66 1.0

Stay seated without moving

How Energetic

to jive
7 7.6
to dance the hucklebuck
  • Archaic
9.9
to waltz
44 3.2
to foxtrot
1 7.4

Surface Forms

dance the hucklebuck infinitive
danced the hucklebuck past
danced the hucklebuck past participle
dancing the hucklebuck present participle
dances the hucklebuck third person singular

Morphology

dance + the + hucklebuck

This follows the common compositional pattern 'dance the <name>' where the verb 'dance' plus a dance name denotes performing that specific dance. Although 'hucklebuck' is an infrequent lexical item, if a learner knows it as the name of a dance the overall meaning is directly derivable; similar constructions occur cross-linguistically, making it transparent.

Etymology

Dance the hucklebuck comes from a hit song called 'The Hucklebuck' in the late 1940s that made people stand up and do a short, bouncy step, moving their hips and feet quickly. That's why dance the hucklebuck now means 'to do a lively, energetic dance'.