jive turkey

noun

A fool, a chump, a target for jiving.

Similar
bullshitterjive-assjiver
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Meanings

nounjive turkey (plural jive turkeys)

plural jive turkeys

  1. USdatedderogatoryidiomaticslangAfrican-American VernacularA fool, a chump, a target for jiving.

    [1970s school principal:] You girls better get with what's going down! I am not a jive turkey and this school is not a jive turkey! Any questions?

    1989, Lynda Barry, “String Heads”, in Ernie Pook's Comeek
  2. USdatedidiomaticslangSomeone who performs the jive dance, especially in an amusing or showy manner.

    Synonyms: bullshitter, jive-ass, jiver

  3. USdatedidiomaticslangSomeone who behaves in a glib and disingenuous fashion, a jiver.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSomeone who performs the jive dance, especially in an amusing or showy manner.

Similar
bullshitterjive-assjiver
Also see
jive-assjiver

Origin

Coined in the 1970s, originally African-American.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

jive turkey. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jive%20turkey

MLA

“jive turkey.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jive%20turkey. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jive turkey,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jive%20turkey.

Source: jive turkey on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.