Shuckin' and jivin'

Shuckin' and jivin' (or shucking and jiving) is slang for joking and acting evasively in the presence of an authoritative figure.^[1] It usually involves clever lies and impromptu storytelling, to one-up an opponent or avoid punishment. In Ribbin', Jivin', and Playin' the Dozens: The Persistent Dilemma in Our Schools, Herbert L. Foster writes: "Shuckin' and jivin' is a verbal and physical technique some blacks use to avoid difficulty, to accommodate some authority figure, and in the extreme, to save a life or to save oneself from being beaten physically or psychologically."^[2][3]

Origin

According to the linguist Barbara Ann Kipfer, the origins of the phrase may be traced to when "black slaves sang and shouted gleefully during corn-shucking season, and this behavior, along with lying and teasing, became a part of the protective and evasive behavior normally adopted toward white people."^[4]

According to the 1994 book by Clarence Major, Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang, "shuck and jive" dates back to the 1870s and was an "originally southern 'Negro' expression for clowning, lying, pretense".^[5][6]

Racial overtones

The use of the phrase in modern American politics has generated charges of racism, especially as such usage increased since 2008 and is usually directed at African-American figures. In 2008, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was criticized for saying of the Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama, who was running against Cuomo's favored Hillary Clinton: "You can't shuck and jive at a press conference." Roland Martin of CNN said that "'Shucking and jiving' have long been words used as a negative assessment of African Americans, along the lines of a 'foot-shufflin' Negro."^[6] Similarly, on October 25, 2012, the former Republican Party vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin generated controversy when she stated: "President Obama's shuck-and-jive shtick with these Benghazi lies must end."^[7][8]

In September 2013, Rush Limbaugh referred to President Barack Obama's strategy on Syria as "Operation Shuck and Jive". He was criticized by Joan Walsh, Salon's editor-at-large, as "a racist troll".^[9]

At the 2008 ESPY Awards, Justin Timberlake used the phrase to compliment the agile play of African-American basketball player Paul Pierce. This segment was cut out of the broadcast by ESPN due to "the phrase's racial overtones".^[10]

In media

• Shuckin' and Jivin': Folklore from Contemporary Black Americans is a 1981 book by Daryl Cumber Dance.^[11][12]
• "Mr. Shuck ‘n’ Jive" is a song written by Jimmy Webb for Art Garfunkel's 1977 album Watermark. The lyrics refer to an old friend telling far-fetched stories of past glory and their current diminished state.
  • A cover was released in 1981 by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson for their joint album WWII.