The Clue
Old balladeer's instrument (4 letter answer)
The Answer
LUTE
Tags
Notes
The answer LUTE is seen frequently, appearing about once every 130 puzzles.
Related Clues
Citole
Pandurina
Pandurina, for one
Accompaniment for a madrigal
Accompaniment for a pavane
Ancestor of a banjo
Balladeer's aid
Cousin of a bandore
Cousin of the banjo
Fretted instrument
Guitar predecessor
Guitarlike instrument
Guitar's ancestor
Guitar's cousin
Guitar's predecessor
Madrigal accompaniment
Mandolin's ancestor
Mandolin's cousin
Mandolin's kin
Minstrel's accompaniment
Minstrel's companion
Oud or theorbo
Relative of a mandolin
Renaissance instrument
Stringed instrument
Theorbo relative
Theorbo's kin
Troubadour's tote
Vermeer's "Woman With a ___"
Instrument that's plucked
John Dowland's instrument
Old stringed instrument
Pear-shaped instrument
What a theorbo was
It has a low bridge
Old instrument that's strummed
Definition
LUTE as a noun:
1. (lute, luting) = a substance for packing a joint or coating a porous surface to make it impervious to gas or liquid
2. chordophone consisting of a plucked instrument having a pear-shaped body, a usually bent neck, and a fretted fingerboard