Jitterbug

A style of energetic swing or jazz dancing that originated in Harlem. New York in the early 1920s. It originated from a similar style of dancing called the 'Lindy Hop', which was named after Charles Lindbergh, the famous, popular, American aviator who flew non-stop from New York to Paris in 1927, who was said to have 'hopped 'across the Atlantic Ocean. The 'Lindy Hop' is first attested from 1927, but soon fell into disuse because it was replaced by the 'Jitterbug', which started out as a term of derision that black folks used to describe white folks who danced a jerkier, more energetic, style of the 'Lindy Hop'. To black folks they resembled 'jittering bugs', and the dance soon became known as the 'jitterbug'. Black folks soon took to the 'jitterbug' themselves and excelled at it. It soon replaced the 'Lindy Hop'. Jitterbug as a dance is first attested from 1929. See also Jitters.