music

Related to music: gospel music

arrange for

1. To organize or plan something. A noun or pronoun is sometimes used between "arrange" and "for," and a specific time is often given after "for." I will arrange for you two to meet this week. I need you to arrange a luncheon for the whole department. Carrie asked me to arrange a conference call for 10 AM.
2. To adapt a piece of music so that it can be played on different instruments or in a different style than is customary. A noun or pronoun can be used between "arrange" and "for" to indicate the piece of music. I would really like that piece to be played at our wedding—can you arrange it for strings? That song was arranged for the piano by our musical director.
See also: arrange

be music to (one's) ears

To be exciting or pleasant to hear. School being closed for a snow day was music to my kids' ears. After such a stressful day at work, news that my friends had to cancel our dinner was music to my ears.
See also: ear, music

canned laughter

Recorded laughter that is commonly played during a TV show's humorous moments, as to encourage the audience to laugh as well. Of course that corny show uses canned laughter to try to convince us that it’s funny.
See also: canned, laughter

chin music

slang Talk or chatter. Can you guys please be quiet? Your chin music is distracting me from my work.
See also: chin, music

elevator music

Soft, usually jazzy recorded music played in public places. The phrase is often used derisively. Sorry, but this sounds like elevator music to me. Let's put on some real jazz.
See also: elevator, music

ethnic music

Traditional music of a particular ethnic group or community. I love all types of music, especially the ethnic music you hear in the big city.
See also: ethnic, music

face the music

To experience negative repercussions for one's actions or words, especially those that one would expect to incur punishment. I told you not to try to sneak in, and now that you've been caught, you're just going to have to face the music. If we do nothing to curb this pollution, I guarantee we will face the music in the future.
See also: face, music

jump for (something)

1. To move involuntarily because of some negative stimulus. Mary jumped for fright when Tom put his hand on her shoulder. The poor child jumped for pain when I pulled the bandage off.
2. To be filled with and energized by some positive emotion. The kids were jumping for excitement when we told them we were going to Disneyland. What's wrong? I thought you'd jump for joy when I told you the news.
See also: jump

jump from (something)

1. To hop or leap off of something (down to some lower level or position). The kids jumped from the platform into the foam ball pit.
2. To move involuntarily because of some negative stimulus. Mary jumped from fright when Tom put his hand on her shoulder. The poor child jumped from pain when I pulled the bandage off.
3. To be filled with and energized by some positive emotion. The kids were jumping from excitement when we told them we were going to Disneyland. What's wrong? I thought you'd jump from joy when I told you the news.
See also: jump

jump with (something)

1. To move involuntarily because of some negative stimulus. Mary jumped with alarm when Tom put his hand on her shoulder. The poor child jumped with pain when I pulled the bandage off.
2. To be filled with and made very active by a large number or amount of something. The club was jumping with an incredible blend of jazz and hip-hop. Their party was jumping with people by the end of the night.
3. To be filled with and energized by some positive emotion. The kids were jumping with excitement when we told them we were going to Disneyland. What's wrong? I thought you'd jump with joy when I told you the news.
See also: jump

make chin music

To talk or chat idly. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning making chin music. I hate making chin music with people I barely know at corporate events like this one.
See also: chin, make, music

marriage music

obsolete Children's screams and cries. That cacophony of sounds that are now keeping you up all night, why that's simply marriage music, my dear. You had better get used to it.
See also: marriage, music

music to (one's) ears

Something that is pleasing to hear, such as good news. When Michelle heard that her son and daughter-in-law were going to have a baby, it was music to her ears.
See also: ear, music

set (something) to music

To arrange for a piece of music to accompany something. Often used in passive constructions. I actually think that scene in the film would have worked much better had it not been set to music. The way I create songs is to first write a poem and then set it to music.
See also: music, set

Stop the music!

Stop! Hold everything! Stop the music! The president's daughter has been kidnapped! Everyone, stop the music—there's something I need to tell you.
See also: stop
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

arrange for (someone to do something)

to make plans for someone to do something. I will arrange for Charles to fix what he broke. I arranged for the plumber to install a new water heater.
See also: arrange

arrange for something

to prepare or plan for something. We will arrange for a celebration. John arranged for it.
See also: arrange

arrange some music for something

to prepare or adapt music for particular instruments or for a particular musical key. Paul arranged the piece for piano. This piece was arranged for the guitar by Frank's brother.
See also: arrange, music

arrange something for someone or something

to prepare or plan something for someone or something. They arranged a reception for Frank. We arranged a dance for the holiday.
See also: arrange

chin music

Fig. Inf. talk; conversation. Whenever those two get together, you can be sure there'll be plenty of chin music. Bill just loves to hear himself talk. He'll make chin music for hours at a time.
See also: chin, music

face the music

Fig. to receive punishment; to accept the unpleasant results of one's actions. Mary broke a dining-room window and had to face the music when her father got home. After failing a math test, Tom had to go home and face the music.
See also: face, music

make chin music

Fig. to talk or chatter. We sat around all evening making chin music. You were making chin music when you should have been listening.
See also: chin, make, music

music to someone's ears

Fig. a welcome sound to someone; news that someone is pleased to hear. A: Here's your paycheck for this month. B: Ah, that's music to my ears!
See also: ear, music

set something to music

to write a piece of music to accompany a set of words. The musician set my lyrics to music. The rock band set the poem to music.
See also: music, set

stop the music

 and stop the presses
Inf. Stop everything!; Hold it! (Presses refers to the printing presses used to print newspapers. This means that there is recent news of such magnitude that the presses must be stopped so a new edition can be printed immediately.) John (entering the room): Stop the music! There's a fire in the kitchen! Mary: Good grief! Let's get out of here! "Stop the presses!" shouted Jane. "I have an announcement."
See also: music, stop
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

canned laughter

Also, canned music. Prerecorded sound effects that can be played repeatedly, as in That canned laughter doesn't make his jokes any funnier, or Canned music is greatly reducing the number of musical jobs available. O. Henry had the term in his story, Cabbages and Kings (1903): "We'll export canned music to the Latins." Canned laughter today is often used in broadcasting to simulate the reaction of a nonexistent live audience. [c. 1900]
See also: canned, laughter

face the music

Confront unpleasantness, especially the consequences of one's errors. For example, When the check bounced, he had to face the music. The precise allusion in this expression has been lost. Most authorities believe it refers to a theater's pit orchestra, which an actor must face when he faces what can be a hostile audience, but some hold it comes from the military, where a formal dismissal in disgrace would be accompanied by band music. [Second half of 1800s] Also see face up to.
See also: face, music

music to one's ears

Very pleasing information, excellent news, as in So they're getting married? That's music to my ears.
See also: ear, music
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

face the music

COMMON If you face the music, you accept responsibility for something that you have done wrong and you prepare yourself to be criticized or punished for it. We were foreigners in a forbidden area, the authorities had found out and we were about to face the music. Sooner or later, she'll have to face the music and it won't be pleasant. Note: The `music' in this expression may refer to the orchestra at an opera or musical. The orchestra sits in front of the stage, so when a performer faces the audience, they also face the orchestra, or `music'. Alternatively, the expression may come from an army practice in which a soldier who had been dismissed for dishonourable behaviour was sent away with drums beating.
See also: face, music

music to your ears

COMMON If something that someone says is music to your ears, you are very happy to hear it. That must have been music to your ears, Carlo, to hear how much they respect you. `There'll be another big bonus in it for you.' — `Music to my ears.'
See also: ear, music
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

face the music

be confronted with the unpleasant consequences of your actions.
See also: face, music

music to your ears

something that is very pleasant or gratifying to hear or discover.
See also: ear, music
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

face the ˈmusic

(informal) accept the difficulties, criticism and unpleasant results that your words or actions may cause: He’s been cheating us out of our money for years and now it’s time for him to face the music.
See also: face, music

be (like) ˌmusic to your ˈears

(of information, etc.) be something that is pleasant to hear: The news that she’d finally left was like music to my ears. The bell at the end of the lesson is always music to my ears.
See also: ear, music
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

elevator music

n. dull, uninteresting music of the type that can be heard in elevators or shops. (see also ear candy.) Elevator music is better than listening to someone chewing food.
See also: elevator, music

face the music

tv. to receive the rebuke that is due one. (see also chinmusic.) You have to face the music eventually.
See also: face, music

Stop the music!

exclam. Stop!; Stop whatever is happening! (From an old radio game show called Stop the Music!) “Stop the music!” hollered the conductor, making a little joke.
See also: stop
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

face the music

To accept the unpleasant consequences, especially of one's own actions.
See also: face, music
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

elevator music

Light instrumental music considered “easy listening.” It is played not only in elevators but shopping malls, grocery stores, doctor’s offices, telephone systems (when the caller is on hold), and similar venues. Simple and unobtrusive, it serves purely as a background. It is also called Muzak, because the Muzak Corporation originally supplied such music. The New Yorker magazine (April 10, 2006) carried a piece by David Owen entitled “The Soundtrack of Your Life,” describing the matching of such music to the venues where it is played.
See also: elevator, music

face the music, to

To meet the consequences of one’s bad behavior, mistakes, and the like; to confront difficulties bravely. This term, American in origin, is believed to come from the theater and refers to the orchestra in the pit, which an actor must face along with a perhaps hostile audience. Another writer suggests it comes from the armed services, where a soldier’s dismissal in disgrace might be accompanied by the band’s playing the “Rogue’s March.” An 1871 book of American sayings quotes James Fenimore Cooper discussing, about 1851, Rabelais’s “unpleasant quarter [of an hour],” when the French writer found he could not pay his bill and turned on the innkeeper with an accusation of treason, which so frightened him that he let Rabelais leave without paying. Cooper said that “our more picturesque people” called this facing the music. A less picturesque synonym is to face up to something.
See also: face
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

Stop the music! Hold everything!

Stop The Music was a popular radio quiz show that began in 1947 and moved to television a year later. Studio contestants and home listeners or viewers (by telephone) heard a song played, then try to be the first one to guess its title. As soon as contestants indicated that they knew the answer, emcee Burt Parks shouted the show's title. Thanks to the program, anyone who wanted to break into a conversation to make a point or to get someone's attention yelled “stop the music!”
See also: hold, stop
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • arrange for
  • arrange for some time
  • arrange some music for
  • buy (yourself) time
  • buy time
  • involve with
  • involve with (someone or something)
  • involved with
  • back into
  • back into (someone or something)
References in classic literature
"I don't quite understand that," said Polychrome, with a puzzled look; "but perhaps it's because I'm accustomed only to the music of the spheres."
Music hath charms, and it may Soothe even the savage, they say;
"I hope your Princess Ozma won't invite him to her birthday celebration," remarked the shaggy man; "for the fellow's music would drive her guests all crazy.
The Road to Oz
"We have this call to play in Finsbury Circus, it is true," said Herr Liesecke, as he edged past her and reached the gangway just as the music started.
Helen's one aim is to translate tunes into the language of painting, and pictures into the language of music. It's very ingenious, and she says several pretty things in the process, but what's gained, I'd like to know?
I wonder if the day will ever return when music will be treated as music.
I do feel that music is in a very serious state just now, though extraordinarily interesting.
Howards End
She went indoors, collected her music, and saying good-bye to everyone, was about to go.
And kissing Kitty once more, without saying what was important, she stepped out courageously with the music under her arm and vanished into the twilight of the summer night, bearing away with her her secret of what was important and what gave her the calm and dignity so much to be envied.
Anna Karenina
I must go and hinder him from jarring all your nerves," said Rosamond, moving to the other side of the room, where Fred having opened the piano, at his father's desire, that Rosamond might give them some music, was parenthetically performing "Cherry Ripe!" with one hand.
Rosamond, with the executant's instinct, had seized his manner of playing, and gave forth his large rendering of noble music with the precision of an echo.
Her mother sat, like a Niobe before her troubles, with her youngest little girl on her lap, softly beating the child's hand up and down in time to the music. And Fred, notwithstanding his general scepticism about Rosy, listened to her music with perfect allegiance, wishing he could do the same thing on his flute.
He thought of Rosamond and her music only in the second place; and though, when her turn came, he dwelt on the image of her for the rest of his walk, he felt no agitation, and had no sense that any new current had set into his life.
He had not meant to look at her or speak to her with more than the inevitable amount of admiration and compliment which a man must give to a beautiful girl; indeed, it seemed to him that his enjoyment of her music had remained almost silent, for he feared falling into the rudeness of telling her his great surprise at her possession of such accomplishment.
For Rosamond, though she would never do anything that was disagreeable to her, was industrious; and now more than ever she was active in sketching her landscapes and market-carts and portraits of friends, in practising her music, and in being from morning till night her own standard of a perfect lady, having always an audience in her own consciousness, with sometimes the not unwelcome addition of a more variable external audience in the numerous visitors of the house.
Middlemarch