speaking in a specialized
language, formerly associated with African Americans, or by
jazz musicians and their followers. The
origin of the
term jive is unknown but it was a regional
form of
American English first associated with Harlem,
New York, USA. It came to prominence in the 1930s when a
type of
jazz known as "
swing" was very popular. In the
language of jive, for
example, the musicians in an orchestra were referred to as "
cats" and "to
dig" something was to understand or comprehend it. By extension, the
word jive is also used in referring to a
special language peculiar to a
particular trade,