▪ I. sing-sing1 nonce-wd.
[Imitative.]
A singing or ringing sound.
| 1659 Torriano, Tint{iacu}nno, any shrill ting.., gurgling, sing-sing, or sharp sounding of bells or bazons. |
▪ II. sing-sing2
[Native name.]
An African antelope, Kobus sing sing or defassa. Also attrib.
| 1854 Eng. Cycl., Nat. Hist. I. 254 This animal is called Sing-Sing by all the negroes..The English on the Gambia call it a Jackass-Deer from its appearance. c 1875 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 19 The Nagor,..the Sing-sing, and the Water-buck are closely allied African Antelopes. Ibid. 20 The Sing-sing Antelope. 1894 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. II. 304 The sing-sing (Cobus defassa), from Western and Central Africa,..differs from the water-buck by its fine and soft hair. |
▪ III. sing-sing3
[Reduplicative pidgin formation f. sing v.1]
In Papua New Guinea: an occasion of feasting and musical celebration.
| 1899 C. M. E. David Funafuti v. 58 Opataia..came to say that there was to be a sing-sing that night in the schoolroom, in honour of the expedition. 1924 E. Raff Let. 10 Jan. in F. E. Williams Orokaiva Magic (1928) i. 100 At one of the ‘sing sings’ (dances) a follower who fell down ‘dead’ was promptly revived. 1943 S. W. Reed Making of Mod. New Guinea vii. 211 In the native villages the initiation ceremonies, tribal dances, and singsing will continue to express a mode of life utterly foreign to the European. 1968 Telegraph (Brisbane) 3 Sept. 18/6 Cattle given to New Guinean farmers for breeding are being killed and eaten at ‘sing sings’ (festivals). |