A.Word.A.Day --charivari

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charivari

PRONUNCIATION:

(shiv-uh-REE, SHIV-uh-ree, shuh-riv-uh-REE)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A noisy, mock serenade to a newly married couple, involving the banging of kettles, pots, and pans.
2. A confused, noisy spectacle.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French charivari (hullabaloo), perhaps from Latin caribaria (headache), from Greek karebaria, from kare/kara (head) + barys (heavy). Earliest documented use: 1735.
Also spelled as chivaree, chivari, and shivaree.

USAGE:

"To the people, the charivari of Westminster politics didn't much matter."
Polly Toynbee and David Walker; Dear New Leader; The Guardian (London, UK); Sep 27, 2010.

"Vivid performances abound in Bartholomew fair, making it essentially an extended charivari of colourful characters, with several thin threads of plot."
Pat Donnelly; Fair is Anything But Pastoral; Montreal Gazette (Canada); Jul 4, 2009.

See more usage examples of charivari in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

What we think, or what we know, or what we believe, is in the end, of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do. -John Ruskin, author, art critic, and social reformer (1819-1900)

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