the.com/jitterbug
a dance so wild some 1940s ballrooms banned it for being dangerous to bystanders.
means A lively, athletic swing dance popular in the 1930s and '40s, full of spins, kicks, and acrobatic lifts — or the dancer who performs it.
from From 'jitter' (to twitch or move nervously) plus 'bug,' giving a sense of the jittery, buzzing energy of the dance. The word was popularized in the swing era — bandleader Cab Calloway helped cement it, recording a song called 'Jitter Bug' in the mid-1930s — and it carried an early slang whiff of jitters brought on by alcohol before it settled into meaning the dance itself.
- origin name
- slang for jittery drunks before it meant dancing
- war export
- American GIs spread it across WWII Europe
- airborne
- partners literally flipped and flew over shoulders
- cab calloway
- his 1934 tune helped name the craze
jitterbug swing dance — american swing dance that peaked in the 1940s, performed to fast jazz music at ballrooms like the savoy in harlem
jitterbug beetle — chrysomelid leaf beetle species found in north america, named for its erratic jumping movements when disturbed