joning

English

Alternative forms

• joaning

Noun

joning (uncountable)

1. (African-American Vernacular, slang) The act of joning (roasting) someone; banter.

   Synonyms: signifying, dropping lugs, sounding, capping, snapping, dissing, busting, bagging, janking, ranking, toasting, woofing, roasting, putting on, cracking, sigging

   • 1939, John Dollard, “The Dozens: Dialectic of Insult”, in American Imago, Boston, M.A.: Hanns Sachs, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, page 15:

     In this city there is another name for the Dozens, "joaning." […] "Joaning" is reported by children from middle and upper-class families.

   • 1994, Nathan McCall, Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 23:

     Good jonin' required a brutal wit, a sharp tongue, and a thick skin.

   • 2004, Brenda Hampton, My Way or No Way, reprint edition, Bridgeton, M.O.: Voices Books & Publishing, published 2006, →ISBN, page 198:

     "Stephon and Jeanette, please," Mona said, interrupting. "Don't start this today. The two of you get on my nerves with this joaning stuff."

Verb

joning

1. present participle and gerund of jone

Further reading

• signifyin' on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “joaning n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
• “joning, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.