barrel-and-pin

adjective

bar·rel-and-pin

: having or consisting of a rotating cylinder studded with pins or pegs and used in a mechanical musical instrument (such as a music box, barrel organ, or barrel piano) to activate the instrument's sound-producing mechanism

… there is the spring, which pumps the little bellows and works the little barrel-and-pin device that releases the air into the pipes that make the whistle.—

Robertson Davies, World of Wonders, 1975

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of barrel-and-pin was in 1944

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Barrel-and-pin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barrel-and-pin. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

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