A barrel organ is a large machine that plays music when you turn the handle on the side. Barrel organs used to be played in the street to entertain people.
barrel organ in British English
noun
1.
an instrument consisting of a cylinder turned by a handle and having pins on it that interrupt the air flow to certain pipes, thereby playing any of a number of tunes
See also hurdy-gurdy
2.
a similar instrument in which the projections on a rotating barrel pluck a set of strings
barrel organ in American English
a mechanical musical instrument having a cylinder studded with pins which open pipe valves or strike metal tongues when the cylinder is revolved, producing a tune; hand organ
Examples of 'barrel organ' in a sentence
barrel organ
The man turning the handle of the barrel organ smiled and said thank you.