muzak

1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of Muzak (“easy listening music, especially if regarded as uninteresting; something regarded as droning on and often boring, or soothing but undemanding”).

   The sound you make is muzak to my ears / You must have learned something in all those years

   1971 September 9, John Lennon, “How Do You Sleep?”, in Imagine

present singular third person muzaks · participle present muzaking · participle past muzaked · past muzaked

1. Alternative letter-case form of Muzak.

alternative musac · alternative muzak

1. uncountabletrademarkentertainmentRecorded background music characterized by soft, soothing instrumental sounds which is transmitted by wire, radio, or recorded media (originally on a subscription basis) to doctors' offices, shops, and other business premises.First known use 1934

   It dawned on her that he was talking about the Muzak. It had been seeping in, in its subliminal, unidentifiable way since they'd entered the place, all strings, reeds, muted brass.

   1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 105

   2 more examples

   There's no way I can change internal body functions. Only yogis can do that. Muzak, for example, can't change you. Aaron Copeland [i.e., Aaron Copland] calls Muzak 'the obsequious.' We're super-saturated with shitty music. [Originally published in New Times.]

   1975 February 7, Michael Gross, quoting Tom Turicchi, “The Hits Just Keep on Coming”, in Robert Atwan, Barry Orton, William Vesterman, American Mass Media: Industries and Issues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, published 1978, →ISBN, part 3 (The Sound Media), page 320, column 2

   Some people, of course, have no trouble making that decision: they know they don't like Muzak. Critics charge that Muzak invades what could be pleasurable silence, disrupts conversation, or smacks of George Orwell's 1984. [Originally published in American Way.]

   1983 November, Bill Hunter, “It’s Muzak through Your Ears”, in Robert Atwan, Barry Orton, William Vesterman, American Mass Media: Industries and Issues, 3rd edition, New York, N.Y.: Random House, published 1986, →ISBN, part 3 (The Sound Media), page 289, column 1

   Synonyms: aural wallpaper, elevator music, lift music

alternative musac · alternative muzak

1. derogatoryoftenuncountableentertainmentEasy listening music, whether played live or recorded, especially if regarded as uninteresting.

   The sound you make is muzak to my ears / You must have learned something in all those years

   1971 September 9, John Lennon, “How Do You Sleep?”, in Imagine

   1 more example

   [T]he supermarket is very crowded, because of course it's the time of day when all other people with jobs also try to squeeze in some grocery shopping, and the store is hideously, fluorescently lit, and infused with soul-killing Muzak or corporate pop, and it's pretty much the last place you want to be, but you can't just get in and quickly out.

   2005 May 21, David Foster Wallace, This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, published April 2009, →ISBN

   Synonyms: aural wallpaper, ear candy

2. derogatoryfigurativelyoftenuncountableSomething (such as speech) regarded as droning on and often boring, or soothing but undemanding.

present singular third person Muzaks · participle present Muzaking · participle past Muzaked · past Muzaked · alternative musac · alternative muzak

1. derogatoryoftentransitiveTo provide (premises, etc.) with Muzak.
2. derogatoryoftentransitiveTo adapt or reduce (a piece of music, etc.) to the status of Muzak.

   Willington had seen disco for what it was – the great Muzaking of rock and roll via a chintzy chorus, chintzy rotating mirror balls, and chintzy Arthur Murray twirling.

   1984, Peter LaSalle, chapter 13, in Strange Sunlight: […], Austin, Tex.: Texas Monthly Press, →ISBN, page 115