the.com/jig
a dance so frantic it became the unit of measure for being completely done
means A lively, hopping dance with quick footwork — or the springy tune that drives it — and by extension any small mechanical fixture or device that holds work in place.
from English from the late 16th century, the dance sense arriving first. It may be related to the Old French 'giguer,' meaning to frolic or gambol, and possibly to 'gigue,' a fiddle-like instrument — though the trail is murky enough that lexicographers shrug. The 'mechanical fixture' meaning is a much later spinoff, the idea being a guiding device that makes the tool dance through its paces. And 'the jig is up,' meaning the scheme is finished, leans on an old slang use of 'jig' for a trick or deceit.
- the phrase
- "the jig is up" means a scheme is exposed
- fishing tool
- a jig is also a weighted, jerking lure
- machinist's friend
- a jig guides tools for repeatable precision
- ancient roots
- the dance dates to 16th-century England and Ireland
- jiggermast
- lent its name to a ship's smaller sail
irish step dancing — traditional irish dance form performed at riverdance, established 1994, performed globally
appalachian flat foot — american folk jig style from appalachian region, documented since 1800s in mountain communities
scottish strathspey — scottish slow jig performed at highland games, particularly famous in braemar, scotland