organ grinder

短语

发音

UK /ˈɔːɡən ˌɡɹaɪndə/
US /ˈɔɹɡən ˌɡɹaɪndəɹ/

词形变化

organ grinders 复数

别名

organ-grinder

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    The player of a barrel organ.

  2. 2.

    The person who is in charge, rather than a lackey or representative; the person truly responsible for another's actions.

    比喻

    I want to speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey.

词汇关系

名词

上位词 2

promoter impresario

词源

From the repetitive grinding involved in playing a barrel organ. In figurative senses, from the common 19th-century practice of training monkeys to dance to an organ grinder's music in order to perform on the street and solicit donations and spare change.

来源：wiktionary