jive

[jahyv] /dʒaɪv/
noun
1.
swing music or early jazz.
2.
the jargon associated with swing music and early jazz.
3.
Slang. deceptive, exaggerated, or meaningless talk:
Don't give me any of that jive!
verb (used without object), jived, jiving.
4.
to play jive.
5.
to dance to jive; jitterbug.
6.
Slang. to engage in kidding, teasing, or exaggeration.
verb (used with object), jived, jiving.
7.
Slang. to tease; fool; kid:
Stop jiving me!
adjective
8.
Slang. insincere, pretentious, or deceptive.
Origin
1920-25; origin obscure; alleged to be an alteration of gibe, though the shift in sense and phonetic change are unexplained
Related forms
jiver, noun
Can be confused
gibe, gybe, jib, jibe, jive.
Examples from the web for jive
  • jive decided to release only three of the five chapters to radio.
  • But this story doesn't jive with what we're hearing at all.
  • Because it didn't jive with their preexisting models.
  • Don't think they'll be appeased with golf-clap ceremonial jive.
  • They come to dance the bop, the stroll and the jive.
  • Naturally the script permits her to run a gamut, from prayers to jumping jive.
  • However, these spec changes seem to jive with other purported hardware upgrades that have been floating around the web as of late.
  • People's senses and memory don't jive much with a fundamentally chaotic universe.
British Dictionary definitions for jive

jive

/dʒaɪv/
noun
1.
a style of lively and jerky dance performed to jazz and, later, to rock and roll, popular esp in the 1940s and 1950s
2.
Also called jive talk. a variety of American slang spoken chiefly by Black people, esp jazz musicians
3.
  1. (slang, mainly US) deliberately misleading or deceptive talk
  2. (as modifier): jive talk
verb
4.
(intransitive) to dance the jive
5.
(slang, mainly US) to mislead; tell lies (to)
Derived Forms
jiver, noun
Word Origin
C20: of unknown origin
Word Origin and History for jive
v.

1928, "to deceive playfully," also "empty, misleading talk" (n.) and "a style of fast, lively jazz and dance music," American English, from Black English, probably of African origin (cf. Wolof jev, jeu "talk about someone absent, especially in a disparaging manner"). Related: Jived; jiving. Used from 1938 for "New York City African-American slang."

"agree," 1943, apparently a mistake for jibe (q.v.).

adj.

"not acting right," 1969, U.S. black English, from jive (n.) (see jive (1)). Extended form jive-ass (1964, adj.; 1969, n.) is defined in OED as "A word of fluid meaning and application."

Slang definitions & phrases for jive

jive 1

modifier

: jive records/ jive dancers

noun
  1. Empty and pretentious talk; foolishness; baloney, bullshit: Sugar Mouth Sammy with the same ol' tired jive/ male chauvinist, damsel in distress, and all that jive (1929+)
  2. Trifles; trash: I bought a lot of cheap jive at the five and ten cent store (1920+)
  3. Swing music of the 1930s and '40s, esp as played by the big bands and played fast and excitingly: Man, what solid jive! (1938+)
  4. (also gyve) Marijuana or a marijuana cigarette: So Diane smoked jive, pot, and tea (1938+)
verb
  1. To banter; jest; tease; kid: She told him to quit jiving (1938+ Black)
  2. To deceive, but not seriously; mislead, esp playfully (1928+)
  3. To play or dance to fast, exciting swing music (1938+)
Related Terms

juking and jiving, shuck

[origin unknown; perhaps fr Wolof jev, ''talk disparagingly'']


jive 2

verb

To jibe; chime •The form gibe is found by 1813: The two answers do not jive

[1940+; origin uncertain; perhaps related to chime; the form gibe is found by 1813]