music-roll

A player piano's music-roll turns as it plays a cheerful tune.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A roll for a mechanical instrument: "music-roll" refers to a perforated paper roll used in player pianos, barrel organs, or similar automatic musical instruments. The perforations encode musical notes, and when the roll is fed through the instrument, it triggers the appropriate keys or pipes to produce music.
   • A roll of toilet paper (informal, slang): In colloquial usage, "music-roll" can be a humorous or euphemistic term for a roll of toilet paper, though this meaning is rare and dated.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The antique player piano still works with a music-roll from the 1920s. (A perforated paper roll that plays music automatically.)
  • He collected old music-rolls for his mechanical organ. (Rolls used in automatic musical instruments.)

Advanced Usage

• "to play a music-roll": to operate a mechanical instrument using a music-roll.
  • She inserted the music-roll into the player piano and began cranking it. (She started the automatic playback mechanism.)

Variants and Related Words

• Music roll (n): alternative spelling, often hyphenated or written as two words.
  • The music roll was carefully stored to avoid damage. (Same as "music-roll".)

Synonyms

• Player-piano roll: a specific type of music-roll for player pianos.
• Piano roll: a common synonym for a music-roll used in pianos.

Related Idioms

• None common; the word is technical or informal.