Dictionary

callithump en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈkæ.lɪ.θʌmp/

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps from calli- + thump, or an alteration and backformation from "Gallithumpian", a Dorset and Devon word from 1790s for a society of radical social reformers, in reference to "noisy disturbers of elections and meetings"

Meanings

1. (US, colloquial, dated) A somewhat riotous parade, accompanied with the blowing of tin horns and other discordant noises.
   • You probably don't know what callithump is, but you will find out if you undertake to hoe sod-ground potatoes in July. It has something to do with brazen trumpets and violence. I became acquainted with callithump when I straightened out the asparagus-bed. 1919, Albert Bigelow Paine, Dwellers in Arcady: The Story of an Abandoned Farm:
2. (US, colloquial, dated) A burlesque serenade; a charivari.

Forms

Deriveds

callithumpian