English

Verb

carry a tune

1. (idiomatic) To produce music, especially to sing, with accurate relative pitch.
   • 1903, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farm, ch. 1,

     Jenny is named for a singer and Fanny for a beautiful dancer, but mother says they're both misfits, for Jenny can't carry a tune and Fanny's kind of stiff-legged.

   • 1922, Jim Tully, Emmett Lawler, page 209:

     Emmett burst forth in song, but his comrade punched him in the side and said, “Lord Sakes, shut up, you can't carry a tune in a bucket.