Word Confusion: Gig versus Jig

Plural for the noun and third person present verb: gigs
Past tense or past participle: gigged
Gerund or present participle: gigging

Plural for the noun and third person present verb: jigs
Past tense or past participle: jigged
Gerund or present participle: jigging

Noun:
[Informal] A live performance by or engagement for a musician or group playing popular or jazz music ¹

• A job, especially one that is temporary or that has an uncertain future

[Mainly historical] A light two-wheeled carriage without a hood pulled by one horse ²

A light, fast, narrow boat adapted for rowing, sailing, or racing

• A boat reserved for the use of the captain of a ship

[Fishing] A device, commonly four hooks secured back to back, for dragging through a school of fish to hook them through the body ³

• A spearlike device with a long, thick handle, used for spearing fish and frogs

[Computing; informal] Short for gigabyte ⁴

An official report of a minor infraction of regulations, as in school or the army ⁵

• A demerit

A punishment for a minor infraction of rules

[Also gig mill] A roller containing teasels, used for raising nap on a fabric

[Obsolete] Whirligig

[Games] A three-digit selection in a numbers game

Verb, intransitive:
Play in a live performance ¹

To work as a musician or other performer, especially in a single engagement

To work at any job, especially one of short or uncertain duration

Travel in a gig ²

To raise the nap on a fabric

To catch fish or frogs with a gig ³

Verb, transitive:
Use (a piece of musical equipment) at a live performance ¹

To catch or spear (a fish or frog) with a gig ³

To give a gig to or punish with a gig ⁵

• A piece of music for a jig, typically in compound time

[Obsolete] Prank

• Trick

[Machinery] A plate, box, or open frame for holding a piece of work and or guiding a machine tool to the work, used especially for locating and spacing drilled holes ²

• Fixture

[Angling] Any of several devices or lures, especially a hook or gang of hooks weighted with metal and dressed with hair, feathers, etc., for jerking up and down in or drawing through the water to attract fish

[Mining] An apparatus for washing coal or separating ore from gangue by shaking and washing

[Textiles] A cloth-dyeing machine in which the material, guided by rollers, is passed at full width through a dye solution in an open vat

[Slang, extremely disparaging and offensive] A contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person ³

[Obsolete; communications] Represents the letter J

Verb, intransitive:
To dance or play a jig

• [With adverbial] Move up and down with a quick jerky motion
• Hop
• Bob

To use a jig ²

To fish with a jig

Verb, transitive:
To dance (a jig or any lively dance)

To sing or play in the time or rhythm of a jig

To move with a jerky or bobbing motion

• Jerk up and down or to and fro

Equip a factory or workshop with a jig or jigs ²

To treat, cut, produce, etc., with a jig

The gig economy is based on flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs.

The gig workers from last year will need their 1099s.

Noun:
During the war we had a gig with a cart horse and used to bowl along around the north-west end of town — great transport when petrol was rationed.

The new gig should be out of the builders by April next year, giving plenty of time to think of a name.

Ready the captain’s gig.

The band has a gig next Friday.

He secured his first gig as an NFL coach.

I went to see my friend’s comedy gig.

He had over 9 gigs of programs for his PC.

The sergeant wrote up a gig on a couple of privates.

This gig at the crafts fair has copper blades that whirl about.

A gig is used to nap flannels, velvet, and corduroy amongst other fabrics.

This numbers game requires a gig to win.

Verb, intransitive:
Lord Melton is taking me gigging.

This shift is gigging velveteen.

We were gigging two or three nights a week.

That vocalist has gigged with some of the biggest names in the business.

He gigs as a clown at children’s birthday parties.

We were gigging last night.

Verb, transitive:
For sale: 12-string guitar, mint condition, never gigged.

We’re going gigging for frogs.

Both privates were gigged.

Some players recall the jig pattern by saying the words jig-i- ty jig-i- ty jig-i- ty jig-i- ty or apricot pineapple apricot pineapple.

The jig is up!

A shelving jig makes for a more accurate placement.

I love my Kreg jig. Don’t know what I’d do without it.

That’s a nice bass jig you got there, Scooter. Where’d you get it?

The jig bed has jammed up.

The jig already started on that bolt of fabric.

He’s just some jig.

Jig has been replaced by Juliet in the communications field as it has a more universal pronunciation.

Verb, intransitive:
He stood up and jigged in the cockpit.

We were jigging about in our seats.

Fred went out and jigged for squid.

Tom can jig that key for you.

Verb, transitive:
We jigged the night away.

Let’s go jig a tune, baby.

Bobby was jigging the fishing pole while reeling that bass in.

The floor space was jigged and tooled to produce six fuselages a month.

1. 1920s, and is of unknown origin.
2. Late 18th century, apparently as a transferred sense of the obsolete gig meaning a flighty girl, which was also applied to various objects or devices that whirled.
3. Early 18th century, as a shortening of the earlier (rarely used) fizgig, probably from the Spanish fisga meaning harpoon.
4. Short for giga + byte.
5. Of uncertain origin, it was first recorded in 1940–45.

1. 1550–60 in its earliest sense kind of dance perhaps from the Middle French giguer meaning to frolic, gambol.
2. First recorded in 1855–60 is probably akin to the sense jerk to and fro. The origin and interrelationship of these words is uncertain.
3. 1920–25, an Americanism of uncertain origin; compare with jigaboo.