: American jazz or folk music played entirely or in part on nonstandard instruments (such as jugs, washboards, or Jew's harps)
also
: a derivative form of music formerly popular in Great Britain featuring vocals with a simple instrumental accompaniment
Examples of skiffle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Spare instances of backdrop music include some twangy Americana guitar and an African American spiritual set to a skiffle beat.
—
Christopher Smith, Orange County Register, 30 Apr. 2024
Quarry Bank was the same school where another highly creative student, John Lennon, found a creative outlet by forming a skiffle band called the Quarrymen a few years before the creation of the Beatles.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 14 Feb. 2024
The folk-jazz leanings of skiffle enhance cover songs from the likes of Hank Williams, Lead Belly, and Lonnie Donegan, probing all directions from old-timey to rockabilly.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 5 May 2023
The first group that Ms. Waterson formed with her siblings and Mr. Harrison played skiffle music, a blend of American folk music, blues and jazz that became hugely popular in Britain in the 1950s.
—Jim Farber, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022
Everly Brothers covers and rootsy acoustic tunes that swept Britain during the late '50s skiffle craze.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 14 Oct. 2021
On July 6, 1957, McCartney, now fifteen, rode his bike to a nearby fair to hear a local skiffle group called the Quarry Men.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021
In recent years, Valentine has been living in the U.S. state of Connecticut, returning to skiffle music with the formation of his band Skiffledog.
—Pan Pylas, Star Tribune, 31 Jan. 2021
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Christopher Smith, Orange County Register, 30 Apr. 2024
Quarry Bank was the same school where another highly creative student, John Lennon, found a creative outlet by forming a skiffle band called the Quarrymen a few years before the creation of the Beatles.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 14 Feb. 2024
The folk-jazz leanings of skiffle enhance cover songs from the likes of Hank Williams, Lead Belly, and Lonnie Donegan, probing all directions from old-timey to rockabilly.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 5 May 2023
The first group that Ms. Waterson formed with her siblings and Mr. Harrison played skiffle music, a blend of American folk music, blues and jazz that became hugely popular in Britain in the 1950s.
—Jim Farber, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022
Everly Brothers covers and rootsy acoustic tunes that swept Britain during the late '50s skiffle craze.
—Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 14 Oct. 2021
On July 6, 1957, McCartney, now fifteen, rode his bike to a nearby fair to hear a local skiffle group called the Quarry Men.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2021
In recent years, Valentine has been living in the U.S. state of Connecticut, returning to skiffle music with the formation of his band Skiffledog.
—Pan Pylas, Star Tribune, 31 Jan. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Skiffle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skiffle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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