harp holder

English

Noun

harp holder (plural harp holders)

Harp holder with LED bulb

1. A wire framework that surrounds a lightbulb which fits into a socket at its base and which is topped by a finial for holding a lampshade.
   • 1999, Beverly DeJulio, HandyMa'am:

     Run the cord up through the threaded rod, slide the harp holder over the rod at the top of the lamp base, and then screw on the socket cap.

   • 2004, Amy Tincher-Durik, Design on a Dime, page 103:

     Available at hardware stores and home improvement centers, lamp kits typically include a threaded rod, washers, and a harp holder.

   • 2018, Derek B. Miller, American By Day, page 96:

     The distress it causes her, however, releases a minute drip of adrenaline that permits her to lean over to the bedside table, work her right hand up the tapered base of the lamp, around the harp holder, and find the switch on the socket.

2. A framework that fits around the neck and holds a harmonica up to the mouth so that it can be played while leaving the wearer's hands free, usually in order to play another instrument.
   • 1902, Youth's Companion - Volume 77, page 521:

     The instrument is fitted with nickel-plated tail-piece and harp-holder; has the best steel strings, and is accompanied by a key, pick, full instructions for playing, and packed in a neat pasteboard box.

   • 1998, Adam Gussow, Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir, page 35:

     I'd heave my cooler of Italians, turkeys, and roast beefs from entryway to entryway, stick my head in, shout "Hooooagie Maaaan!" then wail on the harp holder around my neck .

   • 2003, James L. Hirsen, Tales from the Left Coast, page 53:

     He met a blues musician named Jesse Fuller, who had developed a style of playing the harmonica (with the help of a harp holder) and strumming the guitar at the same time.

Lloyd Thayer wearing a harp holder to free his hands for playing steel guitar