to the tune of
Preserved but no longer current.
To the amount of; as, "I had to pay up to the tune of £500." Tuneful Nine, The. The nine Muses (q.v,). When thy young Muse invok'd the tuneful Nine, To say how Louis did not pass the RHINE, What Work had We with WAGENINGHEN, ARNHEIM, Places that could not be reduced to Rhime?
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to the tune of” mean?
To the amount of; as, "I had to pay up to the tune of £500." Tuneful Nine, The. The nine Muses (q.v,). When thy young Muse invok'd the tuneful Nine, To say how Louis did not pass the RHINE, What Work had We with WAGENINGHEN, ARNHEIM, Places that could not be reduced to Rhime?
Is “to the tune of” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.