Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Vren]

What does "sting" mean in the phrase "a sting of violins" ? The context doesn't help, and neither do dictionaries.
Thank you for your help.

Vren

[Lorikeet]

Perhaps the context doesn't help you, but might help one of us? Where did you see or hear it? Are you sure it's "sting" and not "string?" I know what a violin string is, but not a sting of violins.

[Vren]

It's in a novel by Glen David Gold, "Carter Beats the Devil" :

The curtains opened to a spectacularly cluttered set meant to represent Carter the Great's study. A lackey bemoaned the audience's presence. "Eight o'clock already, the show is starting, and the master's room isn't ready yet. He'll have my hide for sure.'"

The lackey dusted everywhere, with huge clouds choking him when he blew across the top of an ancient book. Most of the audience laughed, but not Griffin. He felt a lot of sympathy for the poor guy onstage. In his haste to clean everything, the lackey knocked over a suit of armor, which fell to the stage in a dozen pieces, empty.

When he put it back together again, and returned to cleaning, the suit of armor snuck up on him and kicked his backside. The audience roared. Griffin looked at them sourly, thinking, Sophisticates. What kind of a guy used all his smoke and mirrors to make fun of a poor egg just doing his job?

A sting of violins, then Elgar's 'Pomp and Circumstance', and Charles Carter appeared in his white tie, tails, and trademark damask turban, to tremendous applause. The suit of armor froze. Carter lectured his servant about the shabby way his study looked, and asked why the suit of armor was standing in the middle of the floor. Trying to explain that the armor had just attacked him, the lackey gave it a shove. It toppled in pieces, empty, to the stage. No amount of pleading could convince Carter that his servant was anything but unreliable.

Griffin whispered, "Brother, I believe you. "

[JuanValdez]

[Lorikeet]

[Vren]

I'm wondering if it's not a typo in the book after all. I Googled "string of violins" and found one occurrence of the phrase in the same kind of context :

"Merlin steps in, accompanied by a string of violins."

But the meaning of "string" in this case is not clear to me either...