Nature of the word "gig"

[windshieldbug]

engagement ?

[Mark]

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gig1.htm

[Chuck(G)]

Code: Select all

gig - n., spear: an implement with a shaft and barbed point used for catching fish.

Pretty much conveys the spirit of the term, doesn't it?

[lgb&dtuba]

From: http://www.apassion4jazz.net/etymology.html:

'gig' the musician's engagement, probably derives immediately from the 'gig' that is a dance or party, but 'gig' and 'gigi' (or 'giggy') also are old slang terms for the vulva; the first has been dated to the seventeenth century.

Make up your own jokes

[LoyalTubist]

Uh, boy!

I always thought it had it was a word that, many years ago, meant any temporary job. For musicians, it really doesn't matter so much (to convey its meaning), whether one is paid or not. (Watch that spelling! This is a simple word!) In the early twentieth century, gig was a word used mainly by musicians.

[kegmcnabb]

"gig"

Does it, possibly, have ANYTHING to do with the fact that musicians (curiously) show up for "gigs" (where buffet dinners are involved) in grey plastic raincoats (with big plastic pockets) and (???) leave their "gigs" with their instruments in one hand and their cases in another...??

ie. analogous to:

[frog]

Completely mystified...

Oh yeah, I've seen that one many a-time! No one can clean out a wedding buffet like a bunch of musicians. Sandwiches stuffed in pockets is not just a sit-com joke. I knew a drummer who could stuff at least three meals into his trap case. And then there's the open bar!

[BopEuph]

Uh, boy!

I always thought it had it was a word that, many years ago, meant any temporary job. For musicians, it really doesn't matter so much (to convey its meaning), whether one is paid or not. (Watch that spelling! This is a simple word!) In the early twentieth century, gig was a word used mainly by musicians.

You know, it's funny, it actually bugs me when people refer to a "gig" and I find out it's not paid. Like my roommates are in the drum line, and they have to play just about every weekend for no money. I just never considered them to be gigs. Of course, they always say, "we have a gig today."

Maybe it's just the fact that I am so tired of playing for free, since, apparently, I "love music so much I shouldn't need to be paid to do it." Man, how do these people think musicians eat?

Nick

[lgb&dtuba]

Maybe it's just the fact that I am so tired of playing for free, since, apparently, I "love music so much I shouldn't need to be paid to do it." Man, how do these people think musicians eat?

Nick

Day job.