surf music
2
3.7
- noun
- /sɜrf ˈmjuːzɪk/
:
música surf
- The Beach Boys are known for popularizing surf music with their catchy songs about beach life.
- sounded like surf music
Examples
-
[upbeat surf music]
-
Everyone else we knew was listening to surf music or Paul Anka.
Fiction book (2000) -
It sounded like surf music played in a cement mixer.
Fiction book (1994) -
[upbeat surf music]
-
In the 1960s, surf music became synonymous with the Southern California lifestyle and its vibrant youth culture.
-
Many young musicians today still draw inspiration from the classic sounds of surf music and its iconic guitar riffs.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'music associated with surfing/surf culture' is directly derivable from composing 'surf' (waves/surfing) with 'music' (organized sounds); the first noun simply specifies the domain of the music. This noun–noun compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English modifier + head rules, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Surf music began with beach bands in 1960s California whose guitars used a strong echo that sounded like ocean waves, and whose songs were about surf and the sea. So the name links surf and music, and today surf music means the wave-like guitar songs connected to 'surfing' and life on the coast.