Skiffle is a type of music, popular in the 1950s, played by a small group using household objects as well as guitars and drums.
skiffle in British English1
(ˈskɪfəl)
noun
a style of popular music of the 1950s, played chiefly on guitars and improvised percussion instruments
Word origin
C20: of unknown origin
skiffle in British English2
(ˈskɪfəl)
noun
Northern Ireland dialect
a drizzle
a skiffle of rain
Word origin
from Scottish skiff, from skiff to move lightly, probably changed from skift, from Old Norse skiptashift
drizzle in British English2
(ˈdrɪzəl)
noun
1.
very light rain, specifically consisting of droplets less than 0.5 mm in diameter
verb
2. (intransitive)
to rain lightly
3. (transitive)
to moisten with tiny droplets
skiffle in American English
(ˈskɪfəl)
US
noun
1.
a former primitive style of jazz played by bands using some nonstandard or homemade instruments
2.
a kind of up-tempo popular music like this, played as by jug bands, esp. in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, characterized by elements of jazz, blues, country, folk, etc.
Examples of 'skiffle' in a sentence
skiffle
Well, I was in this little skiffle group, you know, just me and some fellows on the street.
O'Connor, Joe DESPERADOES (2004)
He was appearing with Tommy Trinder, Shani Wallis, a skiffle band, some tumblers called the Five Corsairs and an escape artiste called Zeno.