hootenanny

/ˈhutənæni/

Meanings

noun

An informal, festive performance by folk singers, often including audience participation with the use of acoustic instruments.

Examples :

"Our family had a fun hootenanny in the backyard last weekend, with everyone singing along to guitar music. "

noun

A placeholder word for a nonspecific or forgotten thing (see thingamajig, whatchamacallit)

Examples :

"I can't find the file; it's saved under some hootenanny name I can't remember. "

language word thing entertainment culture

Related Words

including verb

/ɪnˈkluːdɪŋ/

To bring into a group, class, set, or total as a (new) part or member.

"I will purchase the vacation package if you will include car rental."

acoustic noun

/əˈkuːstɪk/

A medicine or other agent to assist hearing.

"The doctor prescribed an acoustic to help improve his grandfather's hearing. "

whatchamacallit noun

/ˈwɒtʃəməkɔːlɪt/ /ˈwʌt-/

A metasyntactic term used for any object whose actual name the speaker does not know or cannot remember; a doodad, gizmo, thingamajig, thingy.

""Could you please pass me that whatchamacallit? You know, the thing we use to open jars." "

audience noun

/ˈɔːdi.əns/

A group of people within hearing; specifically, a large gathering of people listening to or watching a performance, speech, etc.

"We joined the audience just as the lights went down."

instruments noun

/ˈɪnstɹəmənts/

A device used to produce music.

"The violinist was a master of her instrument."

informal adjective

/ɪnˈfɔːm(ə)l/ /ɪnˈfɔɹm(ə)l/

Not formal or ceremonious.

"an informal get-together"

participation noun

/pɑːrˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃən/ /pərˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃən/

The act of participating, of taking part in something.

"The children's participation in the school play was enthusiastic. "

forgotten verb

/fəˈɡɒt.n̩/ /fəˈɡʌt.n̩/

To lose remembrance of.

"I have forgotten most of the things I learned in school."

placeholder noun

/ˈpleɪsˌhoʊldɚ/

Something used or included temporarily or as a substitute for something that is not known or must remain generic; that which holds, denotes or reserves a place for something to come later.

"Please enter your name here; "Your Name" is just a placeholder until you fill it in. "

performance noun

[pə.ˈfɔː.məns] [pɚ.ˈfɔɹ.məns]

The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action.

"the performance of an undertaking or a duty"

thingamajig noun

/ˈθɪŋəmədʒɪɡ/ /ˈθɪŋɡəmədʒɪɡ/

Something that one does not know the name of.

"He used this, this... this thingamajig you saw him with the other day to fix the problem."

nonspecific adjective

/ˌnɑn spəˈsɪfɪk/ /ˌnɑn spɛsəˈfɪk/

Not specific or precise.

"The doctor ordered some blood tests because I had nonspecific symptoms like fatigue and headaches, which could indicate many different illnesses. "