The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #7774   Message #2585966
Posted By: Azizi
10-Mar-09 - 06:54 PM
Thread Name: lyr req: jump n' jivin'
Subject: RE: lyr req: jump n' jivin'
Then there's the phrase "shuckin and jivin." Here's an entry from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006051720041 that was submitted by an anonymous Professor X who wrote that he or she teaches African American Studies courses:

"To shuck and jive" originally referred to the intentionally misleading words and actions that African-Americans would employ in order to deceive racist Euro-Americans in power, both during the period of slavery and afterwards. The expression was documented as being in wide usage in the 1920s, but may have originated much earlier.

"Shucking and jiving" was a tactic of both survival and resistance. A slave, for instance, could say eagerly, "Oh, yes, Master," and have no real intention to obey. Or an African-American man could pretend to be working hard at a task he was ordered to do, but might put up this pretense only when under observation. Both would be instances of "doin' the old shuck 'n jive."

Today, the expression has expanded somewhat from earlier usage, and is now sometimes used to mean "talking pure baloney," "goofing off," or "goofing around." The original meaning of deceit often remains, however."