Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience.
- n. Informal An unidentified or unidentifiable gadget.
Wiktionary
- n. A Placeholder word for a nonspecific or forgotten thing (see thingamajig, whatchamacallit)
- n. An informal, festive performance by folk singers, often including audience participation with the use of acoustic instruments.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An informal social gathering or concert featuring mostly folk songs, sometimes dancing, and where the audience often participates in the singing.
- n. Same as whatchamacallit; a thingumbob.
Etymologies
- Origin unknown.
Examples
“She was often the only Almanac with a steady job, which -- along with regular "hootenanny" song parties -- helped pay the rent.”
“Whenever AFG comes home and hints that we need to put on some kind of hootenanny -- oh, I'm sorry, we need to put on some kind of evening soiree-- my first thought is "What would Melody do?”
“The terror turns up in all kinds of inconvenient places - a "hootenanny," involving folk singing and poor judgment; the backyard of a neglectful mother who is hanging laundry; and an over-packed reception hall where serious partiers in ridiculous outfits are dancing wildly in broad daylight.”
“With other band members singing some of Cuomo's leads, a massive onstage "hootenanny" that had fans playing along to acoustic renditions of tracks like "Island in the Sun," and even the surreal sight of Cuomo kicking over a record player (set up pre-encore) before blasting into a cover of Nirvana's "Sliver," the band has never been so refreshing.”
“Football's biggest game may have glamorous trappings, what with the Madonna hootenanny, the khakis-casual corporate breakfast buffets and the titillating chance of a Joe Theismann sighting, but it can be a bleak curse on the team living in the host city.”
“And the whole rite was set to a hootenanny guitar beat.”
“TV clips from hifi, party record and hootenanny days from the TV shows Playboy's Penthouse and Playboy After Dark feature folk singers Pete Seeger and Joan Baez and rare performances.”
“Sorry, "both sides" fetishists, but one viewing of her show proves that there's no comparison between Rachel Maddow's fact-based analysis and Sean Hannity's Republican talking point hootenanny.”
The Huffington Post: Bob Cesca: Killing the False Equivalency "Both Sides" Meme
“The milieu of the coffeehouse "Espresso Yourself" reminded me of every open-mic hootenanny joint I'd ever played, where most of the people I was singing for were other singers waiting to sing for me (if I stuck around long enough after my set to listen).”
The Huffington Post: Joseph Smigelski: Film Review: Punching the Clown
“It takes me almost the whole lunch period to explain to Verbena what a hootenanny is and why my mom is all fired up about having one.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hootenanny’.
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Origin unknown
bamboozle, ballyhoo, banter, bludgeon, chad, cocktail, culvert, curmugeon, dildo, dude, dweeb, dyke and 51 more...
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plain hilarious
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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old timey talk
Words or Sayings from the 1920's or whatever that no one really uses anymore (at least in that context).
scram, bearcat, heavens to betsy, dick, double-cross, ducky, gams, goofy, hooch, jalopy, john, joe and 174 more...
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truman486's list
Masterbatory Aids
ensorcelled, scintilla, maudlin, lugubrious, frisson, praxis, copasetic, crotch, corollary, bandy, undulating, anthropomorphic and 65 more...
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Words of indeterminate origin
Words of which the origin is unknown.
(i.e. we don't know who coined them and they probably aren't derived from another language like Latin)fuddle, conundrum, grouse, scad, pod, culvert, dude, dahoon, bloke, hootenanny, gib, malarky and 5 more...
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Phonetically Fun
spittoon, cartouche, baboon, squeeze, bamboozle, pojoaque, pilfer, zamboni, elasticity, pantaloon, oodles, bejesus and 6 more...
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Nonsense
Synonyms of "nonsense"
tomfoolery, balderdash, poppycock, lalapalooza, hullabaloo, hodgepodge, gibberish, shenanigans, hootenanny, jabberwocky, gobbledygook, mummery and 15 more...
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Party All The Time
shebang, shenanigan, hootenanny, shindig, hullaballoo, hubbub, bunfight, hoedown, convention
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Delicious-tasting words
When these words are said they tast delicious and make you want to say them more!
balaclava, flibbertigibbet, carbuncular, rapscallion, hootenanny, kumquat, azerbaijan
delirium "Well, a gathering is brie, mellow song stylings; shindig, dip, less mellow song stylings, perhaps a large amount of malt beverage; and hootenanny, well, it's chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny." - Oz, BtVS Nov 6, 2010
uselessness That makes sense. I guess I was equating it more with "party animal" or just "fun guy." :-P Jan 23, 2008
treeseed I suspect "that guy is a hoot" comes from someone "hooting with laughter" and means that guy is funny or that guy makes me laugh.
hoot: verb
(of people) to make a loud noise of laughter or disapproval
Example: They hooted with laughter. Jan 23, 2008
asativum Wikipedia does say the word was used like thingamajig in the early 20th c. So could be.
And thanks for calling attention to it; I'm adding it to my Shindigs list. Jan 23, 2008
uselessness I wonder if this is the root behind the phrase "that guy is a hoot!"? Jan 22, 2008
treeseed a gathering at which folksingers entertain often with the audience joining in, popular in the late 50s and early 60s, also referred to simply as a "hoot"
Are you going to the hoot tonight?
Jan 22, 2008