jitterbug

noun

1. a strenuously acrobatic dance consisting of a few standardized steps augmented by twirls, splits, somersaults, etc., popular especially in the early 1940s and performed chiefly to boogie-woogie and swing.
2. a person who dances the jitterbug.

verb (used without object), jit·ter·bugged, jit·ter·bug·ging.

3. to dance the jitterbug.

noun

1. a fast jerky American dance, usually to a jazz accompaniment, that was popular in the 1940s
2. a person who dances the jitterbug
3. a highly nervous or excitable person

verb -bugs, -bugging or -bugged

4. (intr) to perform such a dance

n.

popular type of fast swing dance, 1938, American English, from “Jitter Bug,” title of a song recorded by Cab Calloway in 1934. Probably the literal sense is “one who has the jitters” (see jitters; also cf. bug (n.)). Another sense current about this time was “swing music enthusiast.” As a verb from 1938.