fake book
fake book · fake books
A collection of musical lead sheets intended to help a performer quickly learn new songsA collection of musical lead sheets intended to help a performer quickly learn new songs.
Meaning
2 sensesA collection of musical lead sheets intended to help a performer quickly learn new songs.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fake, book.
a fake in the form of an imitation book; used to fill bookcases of people who wish to appear scholarly
Origin
From fake (verb) + book, since a fake book helps a musician to "fake" knowing how to playFrom fake (verb) + book, since a fake book helps a musician to "fake" knowing how to play a song.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source