jigging

jig ¹

 (jĭg)

n.

1.

a. Any of various lively dances in triple time.

b. The music for such a dance. Also called gigue.

2. A joke or trick. Used chiefly in the phrase The jig is up.

3. A typically metal fishing lure with one or more hooks, usually deployed with a jiggling motion on or near the bottom.

4. An apparatus for cleaning or separating crushed ore by agitation in water.

5. A device for guiding a tool or for holding machine work in place.

v. jigged, jig·ging, jigs

v.intr.

1. To dance or play a jig.

2. To move or bob up and down jerkily and rapidly.

3. To operate a jig.

v.tr.

1. To bob or jerk (something) up and down or to and fro.

2. To machine (an object) with the aid of a jig.

3. To separate or clean (ore) by shaking a jig.

Idiom:

in jig time Informal

Very quickly; rapidly.

---

[Origin unknown.]

---

jig ²

 (jĭg)

n. Offensive Slang

Used as a disparaging term for a black person.

---

[Probably shortening of jigaboo.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.