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Usenet Posted 20 years ago
Usage
What exactly is up?
"The gig is up".
As I had always heard it as "The jig is up" and vaguely assumed it to be 50s era criminal slang I checked Google and found 30,000 hits for "The gig is up". Then "the jig is up" showed 114,000 hits but, oddly, the Google search also asked if I really meant to look for "The gig is up". Too many puzzles for me. Does anyone have info as to the origin of these phrases or to why Google would ask me if I really meant to search instead for a phrase that returned a third as many results?
Richard Yates
As I had always heard it as "The jig is up" and vaguely assumed it to be 50s era criminal slang I checked Google and found 30,000 hits for "The gig is up". Then "the jig is up" showed 114,000 hits but, oddly, the Google search also asked if I really meant to look for "The gig is up". Too many puzzles for me. Does anyone have info as to the origin of these phrases or to why Google would ask me if I really meant to search instead for a phrase that returned a third as many results?
Richard Yates
Top answer
[nq:1]"The gig is up". As I had always heard it as "The jig is up" and vaguely assumed it to ... [/nq] Could it be that Shumer and the others are trying to avoid "jig," which, as a racial slur, is almost as offensive to Blacks as "***"?
- [nq:1]"The gig is up".
- As I had always heard it as "The jig is up" and vaguely assumed it to ...
- [/nq] Could it be that Shumer and the others are trying to avoid "jig," which, as a racial slur, is almost as offensive to Blacks as "***"?
- " See or .
- Given the many other uses of the word "jig," this may seem ridiculous on its face.
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7 Answers
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[nq:1]"The gig is up". As I had always heard it as "The jig is up" and vaguely assumed it to ... would ask me if I really meant to search instead for a phrase that returned a third as many results?[/nq]
Could it be that Shumer and the others are trying to avoid "jig," which, as a racial slur, is almost as offensive to Blacks as "***"? Short for "jigaboo." See
or .
Given the many other
Could it be that Shumer and the others are trying to avoid "jig," which, as a racial slur, is almost as offensive to Blacks as "***"? Short for "jigaboo." See
or .
Given the many other
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[nq:1]"The gig is up".[/nq]
Grouch Marx told a story that after the immediately after the Wall Street Crash an investor friend of his rang him and shouted, "Marx! The jig is up!" and he hung up. Marx later learned that he had killed himself just after.
Grouch Marx told a story that after the immediately after the Wall Street Crash an investor friend of his rang him and shouted, "Marx! The jig is up!" and he hung up. Marx later learned that he had killed himself just after.
00
[nq:2]"The gig is up". As I had always heard it ... for a phrase that returned a third as many results?[/nq]
[nq:1]Could it be that Shumer and the others are trying to avoid "jig," which, as a racial slur, is almost ... common word even if the phrase in which it appears is less common. Or maybe I just don't understand it.[/nq]
I always considered the expression "the jig is up" to refer to
[nq:1]Could it be that Shumer and the others are trying to avoid "jig," which, as a racial slur, is almost ... common word even if the phrase in which it appears is less common. Or maybe I just don't understand it.[/nq]
I always considered the expression "the jig is up" to refer to
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[nq:1]"The gig is up". As I had always heard it as "The jig is up" and vaguely assumed it to ... would ask me if I really meant to search instead for a phrase that returned a third as many results?[/nq]
Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I've only just discovered the group.
Not sure if it means the same thing but I always say "the gig is over", often preceded with "Oh, well".
Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I've only just discovered the group.
Not sure if it means the same thing but I always say "the gig is over", often preceded with "Oh, well".
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[nq:2]"The gig is up". As I had always heard it ... for a phrase that returned a third as many results?[/nq]
[nq:1]Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I've only just discovered the group. Not sure if it means the same ... is over" rather than "the gig/jig is up" is a UK thing, peculiar to myself, or something else entirely though.[/nq]
According to COD10, "the jig is up" is an Am
[nq:1]Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I've only just discovered the group. Not sure if it means the same ... is over" rather than "the gig/jig is up" is a UK thing, peculiar to myself, or something else entirely though.[/nq]
According to COD10, "the jig is up" is an Am
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[nq:2]Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I've only just ... UK thing, peculiar to myself, or something else entirely though.[/nq]
[nq:1]According to COD10, "the jig is up" is an AmE expression meaning "the game is up" which, to me in BrE, means that you've been caught doing something wrong.[/nq]
...and therefore the game is over.
"Time's up" = your time is over.
Careful,
[nq:1]According to COD10, "the jig is up" is an AmE expression meaning "the game is up" which, to me in BrE, means that you've been caught doing something wrong.[/nq]
...and therefore the game is over.
"Time's up" = your time is over.
Careful,
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[nq:1]According to COD10, "the jig is up" is an AmE expression meaning "the game is up" which, to me in BrE, means that you've been caught doing something wrong.[/nq]
It's a fair cop.
Paul
It's a fair cop.
Paul
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