jive

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdʒaɪv/
• Rhymes: -aɪv

Etymology 1

Unknown.

Slang attested in African-American and rural-American culture. Frequently used to imply lying, verbal deception or trickery.

Possible historical antecedent: see gyve

Verb

jive (third-person singular simple present jives, present participle jiving, simple past and past participle jived)

1. To speak using a jibe or interconnected jibes.
2. (transitive, intransitive, US, colloquial) To deceive; to be deceptive.

   Don’t try to jive me! I know where you were last night!

3. (intransitive, colloquial) To dance.

   You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life; ooh, see that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the dancing queen! (ABBA, "Dancing Queen")

4. (intransitive, colloquial) To agree, to accord.

   We don’t quite understand how these two issues jive.

Translations

be deceptive

• Dutch: misleiden (nl), blaasjes wijsmaken (nl)
• Finnish: hämätä (fi)
• German: dumm daher schwätzen (de)

• Portuguese: engabelar (pt), engambelar (pt)
• Spanish: engañar (es), mentir (es)

dance

• Dutch: dansen (nl), swingen (nl)
• Finnish: tanssia (fi)

• German: swingen (de)
• Italian: giava (it) m
• Spanish: bailar (es), menear (es) el bote

agree or accord

• Dutch: kloppen (nl), overeenstemmen (nl)

• Spanish: coincidir (es), ir (es) de acuerdo (es)

Noun

jive (plural jives)

1. A dance style popular in the 1940–50s.
2. Swing, a style of jazz music.
3. A slang associated with jazz musicians; hepcat patois or hipster jargon.
4. (US, colloquial) Nonsense; transparently deceptive talk.

   Don’t give me that jive. I know where you were last night.

Translations

deceptive talk

• Dutch: smoes (nl) m, zever (nl) m, nonsens (nl) f
• Finnish: pötypuhe, hölynpöly

• Spanish: cuento chino (es) m

See also

• bullshit

Etymology 2

Verb

jive (third-person singular simple present jives, present participle jiving, simple past and past participle jived)

1. (US) Alternative spelling of jibe.

Usage notes

"Jive" is often used incorrectly in place of "jibe", meaning "to agree or accord". While one recent dictionary accepts this usage, most sources consider this an error.

See also jive turkey for related expression.