carry a tune

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

carry a tune (third-person singular simple present carries a tune, present participle carrying a tune, simple past and past participle carried a tune)

1. (idiomatic) To produce music, especially to sing, with accurate relative pitch.
   • 1903, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 1, in Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm:

     Jenny is named for a singer and Fanny for a beautiful dancer, but mother says they're both misfits, for Jenny can't carry a tune and Fanny's kind of stiff-legged.

   • 1922, Jim Tully, Emmett Lawler‎^[1], page 209:

     Emmett burst forth in song, but his comrade punched him in the side and said, “Lord Sakes, shut up, you can't carry a tune in a bucket.

See also

• can't carry a tune in a bucket