Definitions

Sorry, no definitions found. Check out and contribute to the discussion of this word!

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word diddley bow.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • “Mr. Perkins, who dropped out of school after the third grade, taught himself the rudiments of blues guitar on a homemade instrument called a diddley bow: a length of wire stretched between nails driven into a wall.”

    The New York Times, Pinetop Perkins, Delta Boogie-Woogie Master, Dies at 97, by Bill Friskics-Warren, March 21, 2011

    March 22, 2011

  • Now you know where Bo Diddley got his stage name. He said, at a performance I attended that wires for his and others' diddley bows were purloined from window screens. Crushed cans shoved under the wire provided tension and support, and a glass beer bottle was used as a slide.

    March 22, 2011