Jig walk (1908)
Douglas G. Wilson
douglas at NB.NET
Tue Mar 27 02:16:44 UTC 2007
Here is an early example of "jig walk" = "black person".
From N'archive:
----------
_Washington Post_, 9 Feb. 1908: "Miscellany section", p.2:
[title: "Honesty the Best Policy Slip"]
[a tale told by a criminal, who has "adopted the vernacular of the underworld"]
[set in Norfolk (presumably VA)]
[attrib. _New York Telegraph_]
<<There is a big dinge club in the block and there happened to be a bunch
of [']jig walks['] posing around the door[.]>>
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There are a number of other slang expressions in this piece, including
"boob" = "jail", "gee" = "man".
Somebody who has access to a different archive should verify the above
quotation since the reproduction of this page is poor at N'archive.
Whence "jig-walk"? Any guesses?
-- Doug Wilson
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