As promised, here's another musical idiom to herald the upcoming release of the seventh book in my Silver Rush series, MORTAL MUSIC:
Chin music.
I'll confess, this is a new one to me. Not that it's "new." In fact, it apparently first appeared almost two centuries ago...
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According to American Slang, Second Edition, edited by Robert L. Chapman Ph.D., chin music has several definitions, depending on the context. It can mean:
- talk, especially inconsequential chatter or chitchat (first appeared in 1830s)
- various kinds of raucous shouting at a baseball game, from the crowd, from the players to each other, from the players or manager to the umpires, etc. (by 1880s)
- a pitched ball that passes close to the batter's face; a beanball (by the 1980s)
I dug a little deeper and found several 19th-century examples, including the one below from Potter's American Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine of History, Literature, Science and Art, Volumes 10–11 (1878).
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| A chin-music ensemble? (Cue the accompanist, entering the room.) By Eugene de Blaas - Art Renewal Center, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7753932 |
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4 comments:
New to me too, Ann. Being somewhat literal minded, I thought the accompanist should have a violin. 😏
Hi Liz!
Now THAT would have been perfect! :-D
I'd thought it was used much earlier than the 80s in old Westerns, referring to a warning shot, similar to the baseball usage, but with a gun shot/bullet whistling by the indended's face. "Did you hear that chin music, podna?
Hello AlmadenMike,
I like your definition of chin music! I wouldn't be surprised if it was used in some old Westerns. It has that "sound," doesn't it!
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