See Also: washboard(dictionary)
washboard(dictionary)

washboard (iou)



washboard noun & adjective. M18.
[from WASH- + BOARD noun.]
A. noun.
Nautical. A board on the side of a boat, or the sill of a lower-deck port, to prevent the sea breaking over. M18.
Motor Boat & Yachting The foredeck, including the washboard, has been restyled
Orig., a flat piece of wood fixed on an axis within the barrel of an early washing machine, and made to revolve so as to agitate the clothes in the water. Now (orig. US), a hardwood board, with a ribbed surface or covered with corrugated zinc, on which clothes are scrubbed in washing. L18.
b. A washboard used mainly by skiffle bands as a percussion instrument and played with the fingers; the kind of music produced by bands using this instrument. E20.
New Yorker They..played a washboard, a washtub bass, a banjo..and a jawbone.
A skirting-board. dial. E19.
A corrugated surface, esp. of a road. M20.
California Bicyclist After 16 miles of washboard to jumble our brains, the lead riders peeled off.
b. attrib. or as adjective.
Of a surface, esp. a road: corrugated, esp. as a result of weather and usage. E20.
Of or pertaining to the use of a washboard as a musical instrument. M20.