ugly stick
Syllables: ug·ly stick/ˈʌɡli ˌstɪk/
ugly stick noun: a traditional Newfoundland musical instrument fashioned from household and toolshed items, typically a mop handle attached with bottle caps, small bells, tin cans, etc., which are struck with a drumstick while one end of the handle is hit against the floor.
Noun
ugly stick (plural ugly sticks)
- A traditional Newfoundland musical instrument fashioned from household and toolshed items, typically a mop handle attached with bottle caps, small bells, tin cans, etc., which are struck with a drumstick while one end of the handle is hit against the floor.
- You may also find an authentic ugly stick. It's masterfully constructed with beer stoppers, duct tape, a tobacco can, and a few pieces of wood. It just is…1988 June 17, Stephen Day, “Folk Music Revived at Bridgett’s”, in The Muse, volume 38, number 23, St. John’s, N.L.: Council of the Students Union, Memorial University of Newfoundland, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- Nobody's invited; everybody just comes. And there's no real planning, because the folks that come bring food and music with them. There are fiddles and squeezeboxes and ugly sticks and sometimes even drums to make the music.2010, Penny Draper, “Bella”, in Laura Peetoom, editor, A Terrible Roar of Water (Disaster Strikes; 5), Regina, Sask.: Coteau Books, →ISBN, page 57
- A notional stick with which unattractive people are said to have been hit, causing them to become ugly.
- Signifying is a way of saying the truth that hurts with a laugh, a way of capping on (shutting up) someone. Getting even talking bout people's mammas & such. It's a love/hate exercise in exorcising one's hostilities. It's a funny way of saying something negative that is obviously untrue like: "you...1969 September, Carolyn M[arie] Rodgers, “Black Poetry—Where It’s At”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Negro Digest, volume XVIII, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Company, →OCLC, pages...
- Another unique characteristic of signification is that it can be both light and heavy. […] An example of lightweight siggin or cappin is provided in the playful name-calling rituals, such as: "You so ugly look like you been hit by a ugly stick," and "Yo natural look like this broad on the wall"...1977, Geneva Smitherman, “‘The Form of Things Unknown’: Black Modes of Discourse”, in Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America, Detroit, Mich.: Wayne State University Press, published...
Examples of ugly stick in a sentence
- It's a funny way of saying something negative that is obviously untrue like: "you look like you been whupped wid uh ugly stick" […]1969 September, Carolyn M[arie] Rodgers, “Black Poetry—Where It’s At”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Negro Digest, volume XVIII, number...
- You look like you've been whipped with a ugly stick.1983, William [Reynolds] Ferris, “Vision in Afro-American Folk Art: The Sculpture of James Thomas”, in William Ferris, editor...
- This would comprise, for instance, not muttering "He was touched by the ugly stick" in a voodoo accent when passing one of God's unfortunates in the street; […]1997 June, Ethan Mordden, “Exorcis”, in Some Men are Lookers, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 7:
- The guy was so ugly he looked like he'd been whopped with an ugly stick.1999 August, Tom Neale, “On Watch: Peanut Butter in Paradise: Caribbean Chartering”, in Bernadette Brennan Bernon, editor, Cruising World...
Forms of ugly stick
| plural | ugly sticks |
|---|
Origin of ugly stick
From ugly + stick.
Words formed from ugly stick
Questions about ugly stick
- What does ugly stick mean?
- Ugly stick means a traditional Newfoundland musical instrument fashioned from household and toolshed items, typically a mop handle attached with bottle caps, small bells, tin cans, etc., which are struck with a drumstick while one end of the handle is hit against the floor.
- How do you use ugly stick in a sentence?
- It's a funny way of saying something negative that is obviously untrue like: "you look like you been whupped wid uh ugly stick" […]
- What part of speech is ugly stick?
- Ugly stick is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ugly stick?
- Ugly stick is pronounced /ˈʌɡli ˌstɪk/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ugly stick?
- The plural of ugly stick is ugly sticks.
Words near ugly stick in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ugly stick (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ugly stick.wav.
Cite this entry: “ugly stick.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ugly_stick. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.