The Jig is up...
The jig (a jig) is a lively Irish folk dance accompanied by a tune. Tunes differ from songs as they usually have no lyrics. Literally, the jig is up would mean the tune had ended.The idiom for the jig is up would be someone who has been found out for wrong doing.
For example, little Billy was taking money from his mothers purse when she napped. She intentionally marked the bills and after checking her purse confronted him. At that point he realized the jig is up and had to confess having taken money from her.
A musicians slang for engagement is gig. I believe it started with jazz musicians calling an engagement an en-gig-ment that was later shortened to gig.
We commonly used the term the gig is up not knowing the Irish word jig. Yeah, it was a dance but none of us knew it was a tune. Hey... we played rock music. Except for The Beatles, we didn't know much about things that came from across the pond.
The Jig is up...
Comments (5)
some jazz historians believe that the term originated from a dance called a "gigue," while others believe that the term derived from carriages called "gigs" in New Orleans. The thought is that black musicians, in order to avoid being arrested for playing on the street would instead play jazz on the back of carriages or trucks.
The latter explanation has some support from popular culture. Richard Digance on UK TV Channel 4's Countdown is widely quoted as forwarding the notion that the term derives from black musicians in New Orleans as stated above.
But I would think the jig precede New Orleans by several centuries at least.
I never really equated the two words before now