NewsBlues mrsbgrammar Page 139
Chapter 2 Word Choice
129
jibe/gibe/jive
Mr. B recently used a most primordial form of communication to ask
Mrs. B for help in word choice:
"Yo, Mrs. B," he hollered from the office across the hall, "what's the
difference in JIBE and JIVE?"
"Jibe" is a colloquial or informal word that means "in harmony or
agreement."
v
His testimony didn't JIBE with the statement he made to police.
A "gibe" (pronounced the same as "jibe") is "a teasing remark."
v
After mispronouncing Boca Raton, the network anchor had to
endure the GIBE of a colleague or two.
And "jive" is a word our mothers (or maybe your grandmothers)
used for jazz or swing music.
It's also slang for "nonsensical" or "disingenuous" (now that's a
good word) talk.
v
Man, are you JIVING me, or what?
That's what Mrs. B should have hollered back to Mr. B.
