muzak

name

1. (uncountable)Recorded 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.

   “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.”

   “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.]”

   “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.]”

noun

1. (derogatory, often, uncountable)Easy 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”

   “[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.”

2. (derogatory, figuratively, often, uncountable)Something (such as speech) regarded as droning on and often boring, or soothing but undemanding.
3. (alt-of, uncountable)Alternative 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”

verb

1. (derogatory, often, transitive)To provide (premises, etc.) with Muzak.
2. (derogatory, often, transitive)To 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.”

3. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of Muzak.