Entry · catalog no. 4308
buck jumping
/ /bʌk ˈdʒʌm.pɪŋ/ /buck JUMP-ing
verb · New Orleans, Louisiana · 1900s
✓ Verified
1.
Dancing hard and free in a New Orleans second line — an improvised, athletic solo style that answers the brass band, dipping, kicking, and climbing onto sidewalks, porches, and the tops of cars along the route.
“By the time the band hit Claiborne, folks were buck jumping on top of the cars.”
Origin & Attribution
Black New Orleans, with roots in the West African circle dances kept alive at Congo Square and carried through the social aid and pleasure clubs. Buck jumping is the second line's dance, matched to the frenetic pulse of the modern brass band and echoed later in the city's bounce and rap.
1800s
Second-line dancing rooted in the Congo Square tradition
1980s
Named in New Orleans rap on "Buck Jump Time"
1991
Carried by Rebirth Brass Band's "Do Whatcha Wanna"
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The South
New Orleans, Louisiana · 1900s
Spoken by
Black New Orleanians; second-line paraders
$BUCKJUThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady126 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
55/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1900
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@nolakid
New Orleans, LA
@htxdri
Houston, TX
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
Gregory D & DJ Mannie Fresh, "Buck Jump Time" (New Orleans)
1980s
■
+ Cite a sourceRebirth Brass Band, "Do Whatcha Wanna"
1991
See also