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Glite Dictionary
to jip the line

to jip the line

9.9
To cut in line without taking your turn
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : saltarse la fila
  • Please don't jip the line; everyone here has been waiting patiently.

Examples

  • Some kids attempted to jip the line at the ticket counter, but they were caught.

  • He always jips the line when we go to the movies.

  • Anyone who tries to jip the line will be asked to move to the back.

  • Don't jip the line at the concert!

  • If you jip the line at the bus stop, you'll make everyone else angry.

  • She complained when someone tried to jip the line in front of her.

  • It's unfair to jip the line at the grocery store checkout.

Synonyms

to cut in line
vsto jip the line
  • US
8 3.8

Move ahead of people in a line without waiting for your turn

emphasizes unfairness and cheating rather than neutral forward movement
to push in
vsto jip the line
  • UK
5 5.6

To join a line or enter a place without waiting your turn

describes the same unfair act but with less focus on rudeness
to jump the queue
vsto jip the line
  • UK
1 4.8

Move ahead of people waiting in a line to skip your turn

focuses more on cheating intent behind the same action

Antonyms

to wait
∞ 1.0

To stay in one place or delay action until something happens

How Rude

to push in
  • UK
5 5.6
to jip the line
  • Informal
9.9
to cut in line
  • US
8 3.8

Surface Forms

jip the line infinitive
jipped the line past
jipped the line past participle
jipping the line present participle
jips the line third person singular

Morphology

jip + the + line

The crucial element 'jip' is not a recognizable transparent verb and provides the idiomatic force of the phrase; knowing 'the' and 'line' does not let a learner infer the meaning 'to cut in/cheat ahead'. This is slangy and lexically idiosyncratic rather than compositional, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not reliably derive the intended meaning.

Etymology

Jip the line may come from old slang jip meaning a quick, cheating move; picture someone quickly slipping past others in a line to get ahead. So the phrase came to mean 'to cut in line'.