What is Muggin?

[hopgal]

I have a Django Rheinhardt album with the song "I'se a Muggin," and I have heard this term used in other songs. It seems to refer to drinking? I have tried looking this up in the dictionary, but it's not there because it's slang.

Muggin' (v.) -- making 'em laugh, putting on the jive. "Muggin' lightly," light staccato swing; "muggin' heavy," heavy staccato swing.

http://mezzjelly.com/slang.html

-FF

[Swing Kitten]

Muggin' (v.) -- making 'em laugh, putting on the jive. "Muggin' lightly," light staccato swing; "muggin' heavy," heavy staccato swing.

gosh I love google!!

[Swing Kitten]

hahahaha I guessed we looked that up at the same time! But you clearly beat me to it!

And HELLLOOOOO hopgal!!!

Welcome to the dance forums! Where are you from and how long have you been dancin'? :D

[MissAlyssa]

haha, the only definition I have heard for 'muggin' was like "a mean stare" aka "yo dawg, why you mean muggin me" (lol, I watch too many ghetto movies)

[d nice]

Muggin also carries a somewhat deragatory meaning... muggin' means acting falsely for humors sake, or to act in a comedic manner to make others feel less intimidated.

Think of the old characters portrayed by black actors in the 30's. The facial expressions many of them used are muggin' in this sense.

[hopgal]

Thanks, everybody, for the info. It is hard to find a good website for slang, especially if it is a term that has been out of use for awhile, like some of the swing terms.

In response to Swing Kitten, I am from New Hampshire and have only been dancing for about 6 months. Started out taking ballroom dancing lessons with my husband, then added a Lindy Hop class about a month ago. It's lots of fun, but I am still struggling.

[Swing Kitten]

Are you currently living in New Hampshire?? I'm in Connecticut right now! You're not all that far away. The dancers I've met here have been very nice and helpful to me... especially when I was starting out! You say you just started lindy lessons? Have you braved the social dance floor yet?? I'm sure your instructor can reccommend a few good places to dance. Does your husband lindy with you? Oh what fun!

[hopgal]

Yes, I currently live in NH. We have not yet ventured out into the "jungle," as one of my teachers calls it, only to the dances that are held at the dance schools we go to. Well, I guess those sort of count, but not like going to Swing City in Boston or anything. I want to do this, but we have to get our moves down a little better. DH still has a bit of trouble staying in time with the music, but it is hard to lead and he has a lot of things to remember. We are taking some private lessons also, and that has helped a lot. Last night I think we had a breakthrough with the "compression" thing. It just takes time.

People are generally very nice where we dance, also. It just sometimes seems like everyone is dancing so far above my level that I don't dare ask them to dance, or they are so much worse than me, that I don't want to dance with them. (Especially when they THINK they are good dancers, but they're not.)

[Swing Kitten]

Hopgal,

I'm so happy to hear of your breaktrough!! Yes, compression is a magical and beautiful thing!!! What made it 'click' for you?

I would recommend braving the 'jungle' periodically, it's so much fun!! Nothing has helped me learn faster than just going out and doing it! You're lucky and will bring a partner with you but you'll both learn so much more by dancing with the other folks there and then you two can compare notes.

Don't let the more advanced dancers intimidate you... they were once beginners too and most of them remember that and so are very understanding and chances are you'll even learn something new that will increase your own ability as well. All you have to do is after you become a skilled dancer be sure to dance with beginners every now and then. It returns the favor, completes the cycle, and it's pretty fun.

There are also lots of steps (venue wise) between dance studio dances where you know everyone and Swing City. Does your instructor know of nice places to dance in NH? I have found that the smaller venues tend to have a nice mix of experience levels and work pretty well for information sharing-- very casual, of course, people are there to dance and sometimes that's all they want to do and we have to respect that.
This is when good judgement comes in... you can learn a lot from a dance all by itself and "teaching on the sidelines" is not always nessesary-- although many dancers are happy to help it's best not to assume.

I hope you two will feel comfortable enough to go out soon and learn first hand that the dance is not really about the steps but the feeling!

How long did you want to take lessons before you signed up? Was your husband eager to learn or did he need convincing? :wink: What other ballroom dances do you do? Is lindy hop your favorite? (pssst! it's my favorite too!!! shhhhh don't tell any of the salsa dancers!!) :D It's nice to see you posting and I look forward to your posts in the future!

[pygmalion]

I would recommend braving the 'jungle' periodically, it's so much fun!! Nothing has helped me learn faster than just going out and doing it! You're lucky and will bring a partner with you but you'll both learn so much more by dancing with the other folks there and then you two can compare notes.

Don't let the more advanced dancers intimidate you... they were once beginners too and most of them remember that and so are very understanding and chances are you'll even learn something new that will increase your own ability as well. All you have to do is after you become a skilled dancer be sure to dance with beginners every now and then. It returns the favor, completes the cycle, and it's pretty fun.


I'm definitely with Swing Kitten on this. It's really scary making the leap from dance studio to the real world, but it doesn't take long to start having fun out there.

People out there in clubs and public dances are often a good mix of backgrounds and experience levels, and can be very, very nice to new people. The untrained dancers can teach you a lot about just relaxing and feeling the music. The trained dancers can teach you a lot about following the leader, not just automatically knowing the pattern.
Either way, you win. :D