to shuck and jive
1
9.9
- idiom
- /ʃʌk ənd dʒaɪv/
- Slur
:
[OFENSIVO] comportarse de forma evasiva y fingida
- When questioned about the company's financial issues, the CEO began to shuck and jive, avoiding a direct answer.
Examples
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During the debate, the candidate started to shuck and jive instead of addressing the important questions about his policies.
-
These people never smarten up; they just keep lying and shucking and jiving.
Blog text (14) -
The sad thing is, I can actually imagine Sarah telling Piper to stop shucking and jiving when Piper is avoiding chores.
Blog text (20) -
Both Romney and Ryan shuck and jive when asked about which programs they would cut (no specifics, EVER) and proof of how their budget would actually work (again, no specifics, EVER - just staffers' blogs and "because I say it will").
Blog text (33) -
Whenever he is confronted with difficult topics, he tends to shuck and jive his way around the subject.
Synonyms
17
7.4
To avoid giving a direct answer or clear commitment
10
8.4
To talk in a way that is not honest to trick someone
7
9.9
To use unclear words to avoid giving a direct answer or telling the truth
6
8.6
To avoid making a clear decision or giving a direct answer
5
7.7
To avoid giving a clear answer or decision
3
9.1
To avoid giving a direct answer to hide the truth
3
9.0
To keep changing your mind and not give a clear answer
To speak or act to hide the truth and avoid a clear answer
To speak in a vague or praising way to avoid answering
To avoid answering a question directly by being unclear
Antonyms
How Evasive
- Literature
42
7.8
- Formal
3
9.1
- Slur
1
9.9
15
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'shuck and jive' is idiomatic and culturally specific; its meaning 'to talk or behave evasively or insincerely' is not compositionally derived from the constituents. 'Shuck' is obscure or unrelated (literal meaning 'to remove a husk') and, although 'jive' can imply deceptive talk, the coordinated expression is an AAVE idiom whose overall sense cannot be predicted by a B1 learner who only knows the component words.
Etymology
The idiom shuck and jive may come from people who would shuck (pull off corn husks) and jive (dance and joke) to entertain or distract others. One popular story says this playful acting became a way to avoid answering directly, so shuck and jive now means 'to talk or behave evasively'.