The exact origin is unknown, with speculation ranging from the end of a musical performance to the removal of … found out, and the forces of law and order are on their way. the jig is up the jig is up The plan or scheme has been discovered and/or thwarted; the game, trick, or deception is at an end. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe”: Learning the history of this phrase might taint your childhood memories. Thejig is up is a common phrase that means a ruse or trick has been seen through, thus it is no longer fooling anyone. JIG IS UP The phrase "the jig is up" surfaced more than 200 years ago. 2) characteristics of a person who is extremely competitive, perfectionist, lacking in originality due to imitating and … 2. n. 1. a. It originally referred to the balconies of segregated theaters, where African Americans had to sit. Responsible journalists remove quotes they're not sure about, but occasionally it turns out they've misheard or misread a word without knowing it. Grey's comments, made in a crush of reporters on June 5, 2001, were recorded and transcribed: An experienced CBC journalist editing the story for the Web thought that the word in the quotation was actually jig, which has also been spelled gig over the centuries (as in gigue and gigolo). I'm no lover of Day (nor of Grey, either, for that matter) as honourable A recent NPR story revealed the disturbing and shockingly racist origins of the catchy jingle played from ice cream trucks around the country. Replacing the "j" with a hard "g" (as in "guffaw") suddenly makes the expression far less familiar, if not actually strange, to the ear and eye. 1. The gist of our response: we meant well but tripped. A further complication with jibe is that it can also mean gybe, nautical jargon for a certain kind of course change using sails. Some say it was used to denote the inferior status of poor farmers and field hands in the Southern states, many of whom were slaves. Indeed, in his Dictionary of Historical Slang, Eric Partridge points out that "the jig is up" was actually "standard English" until 1850, when it slid down a few notches to colloquial status. Information and translations of JIB in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Good editors and writers abhor cliches, and resist them like the plague until the cows come home. (one's) jig is up One's plan or scheme has been discovered or thwarted; one's game, trick, or deception is at an end. As with many words and phrases, then, there is a spectrum of meaning. Good jig jig for GI for only 10 dollar. (Did she say "don't gibe me" or "don't jive me?"). If the jig is up, someone can no longer do something wrong or illegal because someone has found out about it. The word "jig jig" or written sometimes as "jig-jig" is used in SE Asian countries to mean "fuck" usually by prostitutes. It's important to point out, however, that when the story was first written there was no jiggery-pokery behind the scenes – a late 19th century term believed to be a variation of a Scottish expression (joukery-pawkery) for "deceitful or dishonest dealing.". A variant of the much more common phrase "the jig is up." But do jobs ever become up? 8. —v.i. Are these intentional changes or gaffes? But gigs? 3. But if someone talks about the tenants of an organization instead of the tenets it's a tougher call for the journalist. jing. The jig is up, Smith! Your tax evasion has been found out, and the police are here to escort you to prison. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples (v) party an instant party with jumping and kicking movements to relax and play or dancing a jig. YouTube sensation. A joke or trick. Definition of the gig is up in the Idioms Dictionary. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. The Jig is Up Meaning . Your tax evasion has been found out, and the police are here to escort you to prison. as he (and she) may be, but the CBC has obviously given her words a slant In these states, you were allowed to vote only if your parents or grandparents were able to vote before the year 1867—which was conveniently before blacks had access to the ballot. Go to the Subscriptions Centre to manage your: Not long after Canadian Alliance MP Deborah Grey suggested Stockwell Day "go home and look in the mirror" to decide if the party would be better off without him as leader, we did some reflecting of our own. She said "gig" and we typed "jig." What else are we hearing—or saying—that we should know more about? Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. The exact origin is unknown, with speculation ranging from the end of a musical performance to the removal of a fishing line (a jig) from water – although the anglers' term didn't catch on until the 1860s, so this seems unlikely. Certainly contracts can be up, which means they've expired on a specific date. Many translated example sentences containing "the jig is up" – Spanish-English dictionary and search engine for Spanish translations. 6. It was a commonly used word in Viet Nam. If somebody, for instance, talks about "gilding the lily" we don't fix the error – even though the correct, and logical, quote from Shakespeare refers to the unnecessary labour of "painting the lily" that nature has already coated in glorious brush strokes. "Jig" appeared to suit the story, while the transcribed quote "gig is up" looked like a misspelling. 5. ‘the jig is up; you've had your last chance’ ‘Tally put her hands in the air mockingly and said, ‘I guess the jig is up.’’ ‘Which means, as Way puts it, ‘When the venues go, the jig is up.’’ ‘Dekker looks over his shoulder and sees that the jig is up.’ ‘Well, everyone knows that the jig is up once the partying begins.’ A jig is an energetic dance, but during Elizabethan times jig also came to mean a trick or a practical joke. See more. (v) to go briskly, specifically as a-dance. Your tax evasion has been found out, and the police are here to escort you to prison. Others, however, could argue that the big news in the Alliance that day involved jibing in a tempest – Grey's sudden switch in direction, and the possibility that other MPs would abandon Stockwell Day's ship and frantically sail after her. “Sold down the river”: Today, if people say they’ve been “sold down the river,” they probably mean they’ve been betrayed. 7. "The jig is up," on the other hand, is cited by lexicographers all over the western hemisphere. the jig is up. Jig is up definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Wrong. means: to compete. So after checking the 1998 Canadian Oxford Dictionary, which lists "jig is up" but not "gig is up," he changed gig to jig to conform to our style. What does "the jig is up" imply today? Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. Jig definition, a plate, box, or open frame for holding work and for guiding a machine tool to the work, used especially for locating and spacing drilled holes; fixture. The Gage Canadian Dictionary says the expression is slang for "it's all over; there's no more chance," and The Houghton Mifflin Canadian Dictionary of the English Language offers a similar entry: "the game is up; all hope is gone.". The jig is up is a phrase which means the plot has been foiled, the deception has been seen through, the game is over. “Grandfather clause”: You may have been lucky enough to be “grandfathered” into your cellphone plan, but this term has an ugly past. Find more ways to say jig, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. These indexes are then used to find usage correlations between slang terms. Another word for jig. Urban Dictionary: jig jig. What does your jig was up expression mean? Top definition. (one's) jig is up One's plan or scheme has been discovered or thwarted; one's game, trick, or deception is at an end. While he was in the middle of switching them out, his brother walked in and saw what he was doing. A jig is a term that usually means some sort of undefined, convenient device, a happy-go lucky dance that is performed on the spot while pumping the arms, bouncing up and down and kicking out the feet or rarely a social gathering, which is a bastardization of the word "gig" popularized by yuppie teenagers. 2. What is now used regularly to mean “ghost” or to frighten is also a slur akin to “n—ger.” It may have its origins in the perception that dark skin blends into the night, making black people ghostlike. The music for such a dance. One of the quirks of English is that different words, all sounding virtually identical, may or may not mean the same thing. Jig definition: A jig is a lively dance. by Dimi December 02, 2006. During slavery, being “sold down the river” was literal. We knew then the jig was up, and it was no grin matter for us. Some early versions include the lyric, “Catch a n—ger by the toe.” The n-word was replaced by “tiger” in later years. We weren't the only ones to mishear or misread the quote. Jib definition, any of various triangular sails set forward of a forestaysail or fore-topmast staysail. During the 1890s, half a dozen Southern states enacted laws to defy the 15th Amendment and prevent black people from exercising their newfound right to vote. (Why “peanut”? the jig "the jig" is when you do a little dance up to someone, and when they don't expect it slap them in the face many times and do a little dance away from them i did the jig up to bill and then i jigged away by fukage December 25, 2003 This hasn’t been proved beyond a doubt, but many believe the saying was used in its original form by some in the American South to refer to the lynching of a black person. jig synonyms, jig pronunciation, jig translation, English dictionary definition of jig. But it wasn’t until the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s that “spade” became a disparaging code word for black people. It’s probably best to retire this phrase forever. The phrase "the jig is up" surfaced more than 200 years ago. “Cotton-picking”: “Are you out of your cotton-picking mind?” We’ve all heard the phrase, but the term has an ugly, if debatable, past. What does the gig is up expression mean? A variant of the much more common phrase "the jig is up." This expression is typically used when someone has been lying about something or deceiving others in some way. The gigantic Oxford English Dictionary broadens the scope to "the game is up, it's all over." Do we type the wrong word? When someone says the "jig" is up, it indicates that a scoundrel has been Our use of jig instead of gig didn't sit well with some people. “Call a spade a spade”: For more than 500 years, this expression has meant “to tell it like it is.” But it wasn’t until the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s that “spade” became a disparaging code word for black people. Going back to the speaker for clarification is rarely practical and sometimes impossible before a deadline. “The peanut gallery”: Just a dismissive term for hecklers or critics, right? No one danced in our newsroom when the audio was reviewed and we found out that "jig" was wrong. Comments on the jig is up Definition of the jig is up US, informal + old-fashioned —used to say that a dishonest plan or activity has been discovered and will not be allowed to continue The jig is up: where did you hide the stolen goods? In North America, jive has now taken on this connotation too, along with a scattering of other meanings – including attempted deception. it is hopeless; no chance remains: When the burglar heard the police siren, he knew the jig was up. to dance (a jig or any lively dance). to move with a jerky or bobbing motion; jerk up and down or to and fro. Your jig is up, Senator Marten! —v.t. We can't guarantee we'll catch all the errors, but we can promise to try – as well as pledge to post corrections when our words don't jibe or jive with the facts. Also called gigue . played its course. Although there is no reason we couldn't start saying "the gig is up" to mean "the gig is over," the phrase isn't well established. 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