Save on office supplies at Amazon.

Thursday

Jibe and Jive - Mixed messages and misused words from A to Z



Jibe and Jive - Mixed messages and misused words from A to Z

Just in time! What’s the difference between jibe and jive?

This is no joking matter. I jest not.

OK, to jibe means to agree, match up, harmonize, or fit together nicely. Also, when a sailing skipper chooses to change course, he calls out, “Jibe ho!”

To jive is to joke, tricky, bluff, deceive, or pretend.

Here’s an example of accurate usage of jibe and jive.

The detectives knew something was amiss, because the stories told by the two young thugs did not jibe.

“Are you jiving me?” the older cop asked. “Don’t give me that jive talk. We need the truth.”


Image/s:

Misused word pair
Created by this user
At CoolText
 Abused and misused word graphics
adapted from public domain artwork


Feel free to follow on GooglePlus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Chicago Etiquette Examiner, Madison Holidays Examiner, Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

 

6 comments:

  1. This made me think of Slumdog Millionaire, Im sure he doesnt say Jibe Ho. lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't use those words myself. I do see a lot of similar mistakes and errors and they annoy me quite a bit. English is my second language, so I shouldn't be better at it than those who have it as their first language.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You may not have meant to jest, but this is seriously funny! I can dig that. (as is jibe)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Are you jiving me?

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great choice. I sometimes get mixed up with those words, too.

    ReplyDelete

Agree? Disagree? Have related insights, ideas, or a story to share? Feel free to comment, and let Working in Words know you were here.