Word.ws English Dictionary

slack-key

slack-key adjective: (of a string instrument or a manner of playing one) Performed with loosened strings, such that all of the strings play in the same key (most often G major).

Adjective

slack-key (not comparable)

  1. (of a string instrument or a manner of playing one) Performed with loosened strings, such that all of the strings play in the same key (most often G major).
    • Spanish-style guitars played in the standard position, though probably in altered tunings slack-key fashion.2007, Tim Brookes, Guitar: An American Life, page 56

Forms of slack-key

alternative formslack key

Origin of slack-key

From a translation of the Hawaiian kī hōʻalu (“loosen the [tuning] key”).

Questions about slack-key

What does slack-key mean?
Slack-key means (of a string instrument or a manner of playing one) Performed with loosened strings, such that all of the strings play in the same key (most often G major).
What part of speech is slack-key?
Slack-key is an adjective.

Words near slack-key in the dictionary

  1. slack variables
  2. slack-ass
  3. slack-handed
  4. slack-handedness
  5. slack-jawed
  6. slack-key
  7. slack-rope
  8. slack-ropes
  9. slack-tub
  10. slack-tubs
  11. slack-water

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slack-key (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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