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gibe, jibe, jive

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  Ed Good  —  Grammar Tips
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Gibe means “to taunt” (verb) or “a caustic remark” (noun).

Jibe is generally used only as a verb, and it means “to accord with” or “to be consistent with.” Jibe is also a nautical term for the process of shifting the sails from one side of the ship to the other to catch the wind while turning or “tacking.”

Jive is both a noun (music) and a verb (to jive to the music). As a verb, it also means “to tease.”

Example: You could hear the dance competitors begin to throw their gibes at us, and when it became clear that our scores didn’t jibe with the judges' tallies, they proceeded to jive to the music.

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