[Dixielandjazz] Jazz slang

[Bill Gunter]

Hi listmates,

Slang, from a linguistic point of view, is fascinating stuff. I'm an 
ex-English teacher so when I hear slang I often start thinking more about 
the vocabulary than the subject at hand. I know, it's a distraction, but 
that's the curse of being a pedant!

Jazz slang has altered over the years from the time I first heard the word 
"hep cat" to more contemporary "hip dude."

We refer to our music as either "hot" or "cool" and bandy these terms about 
as if we think we're actually saying something specific to somebody else.

Here's an off hand list of slang expressions in our music . . . do you "dig" 
them all?

hep
hip
cool
hot
dig
blow (yeah, dude, I blow violin!).
clam
man
cat
aligator
etc.
etc.
etc.

I'd like to collect a list of ancient and contemporary slang terms used in 
our genre. Take a minute and jot some down and I'll add them to my list.

After I compile a respectable list I'll attempt definitions and identify 
parts of speech and, if possible, the origins of the words or phrases. It's 
possible I could cull and article out of this for some jazz publication such 
as the American Rag or the Mississippi Rag.

On the other hand, this could be a massive waste of time.

But never forget . . . "Any time wasted is time well spent!"

Respectfully submitted,

Bill "jazzbo" Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com

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