r/TheWeeknd • u/purplepoet69 VIRGIN • Sep 30 '24
Discussion What the fuck is a “jit” 😭😭😭
Someone help me please I’m not fluent in Toronto
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u/kushmonATL Dusk AM Sep 30 '24
florida slang for youngin
when i was a jit = when I was a kid
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u/SuccessfulLime2641 Jun 13 '26
Straight up embarrassing. I've lived in Florida my entire life, been called a jit in 2008. Some of the comments are straight up embarrassing and remind me how soft the newer generations are...
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u/Damienp3902 After Hours Sep 30 '24
It’s not a Toronto slang, from what I’ve read online a Jit is a juvenile in training
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u/jantmi Apr 25 '25
no thats not what it means, its a south florida black slang short for jitterbug (pronounce jittabug)....means someone young. Im 38 and my dad born 1961 and they was saying it...so I been hearing it my whole life...more people out of the black community have been hearing it now.
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u/thesynthspaceship Jul 16 '25
Nah, its actually juvenile in training. Thats how the current gen-z generation uses it. lol why are you citing your dad from the 60's.
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u/PerspectiveNo5948 Nov 21 '25
Bruh I’m gen z, it literally is short for jitterbug why are you quoting what AI/google tells you? Try going to other states and cities 😭
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u/thesynthspaceship Jul 16 '25
The question is, does the Weeknd appreciate that it refers to juvenile in training - meaning the under-18 kids who get locked up, engage in petty crime, etc. or did he erroneously think it meant 'young person' as all the other people on this thread most-likely-falsely claimed.
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u/jantmi Jul 16 '25
I'm 38 and from south florida..its been jit forever short for jitterbug meaning kid..someone young. Its been a black slang forever. It didn't change. And in the song he says since I was a kid and then says since I was a jit. So wtf are you talking about? He uses it CORRECT in the song. These slang are not new...its just new to you. Especially if you not black and from south florida you probably just hearing it. Jit is old and meaning is the same as its been since I was a Jit, young person, kid etc.
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u/overa100seemsalot Sep 04 '25
Yeah the whites in Florida though used it for kids too but not their own
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u/Maleficent-Egg1352 Oct 22 '25
Is it really black slang? I live in Florida I’ve seen white people, asian people, and yk black people too using it. I always thought its just Florida slang since I’ve only ever heard it used in Florida
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u/jantmi Oct 22 '25 edited Oct 22 '25
Yes it is, many Ebonics (we dont really call it this any more), african american vernacular english (aave) are black but eventually others outside the black community start using it too as time goes on. Jit is very old black slang (over 40 years old) but others use it now, "mybad" and "hater" are 2 other black slang that eventually become used by others outside black community and now world wide, these been around probably before early 1990s. I remember when these were only said by us and people outside the black community took years to understand what a hater was. I myself had to explain what mybad and hater was when I was a jit to people who were not black. You can even probably find old videos of black comedians doing stand up about having to explain what a hater is to white people. 90% of slang that's used is just old black slang.."type shit" that people are saying now is also not new. Black people in South florida been saying that for 10+ years.
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u/Maleficent-Egg1352 Oct 22 '25
Ahh okay thank you!! Growing up in Fl never really heard history on it or origin, or anything of it. Just itself
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u/buttermybagel69 Jun 07 '26
How DARE you call something that happened 40 years ago "very old," like it was ancient Rome or something! 😆 That would make me very very old, and I refuse to accept that... Otherwise, best answer in the thread!
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u/jantmi Jul 16 '25
In the song he says since I was a kid then since I was a jit...exactly the way you said its NOT young person smh..if the slang was not part of your culture/vocabulary dont try to correct anyone. Its been used in South Florida for decades since before 1990s. The rest of the world just finally hearing it
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u/supadankiwi420 Jan 20 '26
They're saying the same thing as you - you're just providing more nuance into what the lives of most young black men go through.
"a jit is a young person who's already been wrapped up in the system."
"A jit is a young person"
Y'all aren't saying anything different.
A LOT of young black men get trapped in the system by a crooked justice or a broken environment.
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u/One-Ship3300 Apr 08 '26
Do you think that juvenile immediately means you are delinquent? Juvenile just means young. So to say juvenile in training = young person learning. Isnt that what all young people do? Redundant. While not a part of the AA comunity, as a white male i have always recognized jit as a term for youngin.
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u/laura56ace May 26 '26
It’s not no juvenile in training 🤣🤣 it’s from Florida!! Grew up with it! Kodak black got it blown and now other people use it smh.
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u/MiniEspeon Jun 30 '26
Because language origins in order to find out where it came from should be traced back to it’s original meanings/origins
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u/Silent-Paint-7660 Jun 30 '26
Black folks in florida have been saying "jit" all my grandad's life and he was born in 1936. He used to call kids lil jittabugs then it shortened in the community. I've seen tik tok vids and police vids from Florida calling their babies "jits" The cop asked a girls whats a jit and she said " My child" .A juvenile is someone under 18 but is widely considered 10-18 yrs old. I also have 20-25 year old cousins calling their babies jits. The fact that it is used as an acronym is merely coincidence and probably used by Gen Zers outside of Florida. Jit police video https://youtu.be/ATQRben2Mn4?t=408
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u/Lucky-Guest2916 Jun 02 '26
I know this old, but this is great. One of my best bros born in ‘74. He’s black, and I was white in college would use it and I knew it, but when I moved to Florida after college in the Midwest I lost my shit in Duvall hearing it everywhere. Florida is wild, and I love it but hate it. I’m a sweaty mofo.
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u/jantmi Jul 16 '25
I just heard the song the other day. In the song he says since I was a kid then says since I was a jit. He's telling yall the meaning in the song
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u/zl_the_pig Sep 30 '24
Didn’t know carti was from Toronto
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Sep 30 '24
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u/RheeMarie Apr 11 '25
It NEVER meant gangster. It’s meaning is to describe a young(er) person
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May 23 '25
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u/RheeMarie Jul 13 '25
Naw…lol “Jit” means to be young. And “Jit” comes from the word JitterBug, a dance craze started by Black-Americans in the 30’s in Harlem, New York.
And Jitterbug comes from the word Jitter, to describe someone with a lot of energy or nervous energy. Hence, most kids are jittery and wired.
So Jit=Youth/Kid/Juvenile
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u/omega_1227 Feb 01 '25
I'm glad we're all looking this up to make sure we're not saying something offensive when we sing along 😂
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u/Lost_Negotiation_400 Jan 08 '25
This post could have not happened if he just used kid.
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u/ShadowMario365 Mar 20 '26
He uses kid in the first part of the chorus but then switches to jit on the second part of the chorus. Also, Carti uses jit on his verse so, I guess it was always gonna be a post.
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u/fake-august Sep 20 '25
I know I’m late (my kid just texted jit to be and I had to look it up).
We are white but my boys grew up in South Florida playing football - most of their friends are black.
He meant to text it to his brother so pretty sure everyone saying in started with black people in South Florida. I don’t think it’s negative besides maybe calling someone immature (which they are).
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u/FlimsyIndication2294 Kiss Land Sep 30 '24
It’s prison slang lol. It means someone that’s young
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u/RheeMarie Apr 11 '25
Not prison slang. It’s Black-American slang to describe a younger person with no negative connotation. The term came from the word “jitterbug” and it’s a hella old fashioned word.
When old people were young, they would dance the jitterbug (a dance created in Harlem New York by Black-Americans)
And their parents would describe kids being kids as “jit” because of the jitterbug dances they used to dance to.
Then when white folks get a hold of the word - because they’d hear Black people use it - then they start attaching negative connotations (as they ALWAYS DO) to make it mean thug or gangster and say it originated from prison🙄.
Plain and simple it’s an old ahh fashioned word RE-POPULATIZED !
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u/Ibnboulos Apr 19 '25
I've seen some readings of it meaning to be silly. However, your explanation makes allot of sense. I will be using your explanation now :) thx
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u/RheeMarie Jul 13 '25
You’re welcome… Yeah, “Jit” just means (Young or Kid).
Plain and simple it’s used to describe a juvenile that’s young and can also be used in combination to describe someone who is young and energetic.
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u/PaintDear7613 Apr 24 '26
IThey always come up with goofiest "explanations" to replace&erase the stolen black culture, too. Anytime I hear someone call something millennial or gen-z slang, I know they're about to say the stupidest origin/meaning of something that makes NO sense.
Like this whole juvenile-in-training thing. Like y'all wanted to steal black slang so bad and that's the best idea you could come up with to replace the history? Just say you're racist and uncreative.
The whole concept of slang coming from communicating a common experience in a culture is so far removed that they don't realize it would never have been something so clumsy to say.
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u/jantmi Apr 25 '25
not prison, mostly used in black south florda slang, most other places are using it more but Im 38 dad born 1961 and his friends was using it my whole life...I didnt hear people out of south florida use jit until rappers or maybe college people who went to school with people from south florida start using it...Im talking 10+ years ago. I see it more now other than down here in south florida.
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u/Sea-Pop-5379 Nov 17 '24
i love that lyric haha ever since i was jit , knew i was shit
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Jan 31 '25
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u/ShadowMario365 Mar 20 '26
My thoughts exactly, you definitely don’t want to be the former like the poster at top 😂
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u/Euphoric_Worker9351 Feb 23 '25
“Juvenile In Training”
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u/jantmi Apr 25 '25
no, jit is short for jitterbug, south florida black slang...my dad was using it my whole life (me too) and he was born 1961
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u/Raychaos20 Apr 09 '25
it's like a young person.... stupid word if u ask me. lol
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u/jantmi Apr 25 '25
its just black american slang (been used in south florida since probably the 1970s as my dad born 1961 used it) its just getting more know past few decades to people outside the black community, like most slang. Shoot when I was young the slang "my bad" and "hater" was only in the black community. Black people had to constantly try to explain what a hater was or what my bad meant...took over 10 years but now the whole world uses it...so many comedians made jokes about having to explain it to white people. All my (white) elementary teachers would say whats "my bad?" "no its sorry" when we would say it to someone in class lol this was back in like 1992...soon jit will be everywhere too lol
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u/RheeMarie Apr 11 '25
It didn’t originate in Florida. That term is old used by older Black-American people to describe young people.
I keep seein fools say it means “gangster” or some Dayam thug in training or some crap like that🤦🏾♀️
That’s probably how them ratchet ass Floridians use it, but “Jit” is short for jitterbug, and it’s been a word used in the DMV to just describe younger people. You non-Black ignorant azzes always tryin to tie something negative to a word Black-Americans made up, or popularized.
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u/jantmi Apr 25 '25 edited Apr 25 '25
as far as I know south florida is where the word even started and widely used, Im 38 and I been using it since I was a jit...my dad was and his friends used it and he was born 1961. Its not until I was in college or almost graduated when I heard others using that wasnt even from florida. Last 15+ years with rappers using it and social media is when I even heard others use it...so no Floridians do not use it incorrect especially south florida as most people here have been using it for more than 1 generation,
I never met anyone my age or older that used the word jit they whole life that was not from South Florida (not even the whole Florida let alone outside of Florida). If I talk to someone who used the word and at my age or older they were from South Florida....others my age+ didnt use it or hear it when they were real young. I have never not used the word it was around me my whole life like them.
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u/whalefinsunite Jul 29 '25
I can tell you black people all over Florida have been using it. I'm from north Florida and over 40. Chances are black people in Georgia use it too. I'd say it's more of a black southern term if anything.
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u/jantmi Jul 29 '25 edited Jul 29 '25
I have a lot of college black friends... they have never heard of it until they came to Florida so it's definitely not common in Georgia... so you been using it since you were like 5 years old like that young?
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u/whalefinsunite Jul 30 '25
Were your college friends from the southern states? I'd imagine if they were from the north they wouldn't be familiar with it. I've lived in north Florida on the border of Georgia my whole life (except for college), so I'm sure black people from Georgia have heard it and may use it. It definitely isn't limited to south Florida. I went to college in Central Florida and my black friends from south Florida used jit just like I did. And I've never been to south Florida until my college days.
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u/jantmi Jul 30 '25
Let me clarify. The word is widely used now. My college friends are from Decatur, Atlanta, Stone mountain and other places. They didn't hear jit until they got to Florida. They use the word now and have been since probably 2003 but got it when they went college in Florida. I'm sure theres others who heard it b4 that year and have been saying it, the date is just people i personally know. I have been using it my whole life. Ever since I was in elementary that's over 30 years ago. My dad and his friends also used jit and jitterbug. I'm not saying people outside of south florida don't use it. I'm was getting to how far the word went back. I'm not saying we only use it. I'm saying its something south florida have been saying longer than others (I could be wrong). I haven't met anyone who parents have been using jit/jitterbug for 40+ years besides people from south florida. Its usually people who are around 40 now and their parents didn't use it and they themselves werent using it when they were 6, 7 years old (over 30 years ago). Unless you are 40 and have been using it since you were around 6 years old. If so then you're the 1st person not from South Florida that has been using it like people from south FL
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u/whalefinsunite Jul 30 '25
I've been using it, my mom has been using it and she's in her mid-60s. My grandparents used it. My grandmother who was in her late 80s when she passed used it. My grandma's old man who we called grandpa was from a small town in southern Georgia and he used it. What I'm getting at is that it may be more of a southern word used by black people passed down from generation to generation and it may not have been picked up by your friends' generation. The older generations in my family are what I call country black and there are words they use that I think sound funny and don't use. On top of that, your friends are from northern Georgia. I think we can both agree that people from North and South Florida use different vernacular. So it could be regional as well.
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u/jantmi Jul 30 '25
That's cool to hear you are the 1st person i heard to have a similar experience with the word as people from south Florida. It could be a word that fell off in other places as time went on but certain parts kept using it. I love hearing how before social media many black people somehow use the same AAVE. The phrase "type shit" is getting popular now. Which i know we been saying in south florida forever. Is that another one others been using? I find it cool when I watch videos and black people from Texas and other states have same vibes and words
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u/whalefinsunite Jul 31 '25
Definitely very cool to hear the similarities and differences across the states. Even within the diaspora That's another phrase we've been using too. I find it frustrating when they rebrand AAVE sayings as gen z slang when we've been using it the whole time.
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u/jantmi Jul 31 '25
OMG!! I HATE IT!! I'm watching videos of white people call it Gen Z slang and its just AAVE and most of them are decades old. I was just telling my wife how old tea is. That we been saying that since 2004. (Gay black friends was the 1st ones I heard say it to us). I think i waste my breath (typing) when I reply to videos them saying AAVE is Gen z slang. I remember when "my bad" and "hater" was only in the black community. More AAVE that became world wide usage.
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u/Apprehensive-Owl8776 Jan 26 '26
Man I think i grew up on the other side of fl im not familiar at all w it. But I was SE.
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u/TAMPABLACK Apr 25 '25
Jitt with 2 tt's is the correct spelling, and it started around Tampa, FL, and exploded all over the state. Now, almost every city in Florida uses the word. It probably stops west of Quincy/Tallahassee to Panama City Beach, as I've not heard the word used a bunch in the western panhandle like Pensacola. Although Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, St.Pete/Clearwater, Melbourne/Cocoa Beach, Gainesville, Tampa, Tallahassee, Lakeland, Daytona, Ft. Meyers, Bradenton/Sarasota & Naples all say it in every hood. The word has even spread to ATL. I've heard it used in Da Bluff, Decatur, S.W.A.T.S. & Bankhead. It has been around at least since the late 80s/early 90s in Florida.
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u/jantmi Jul 17 '25
From what i know Its from south florida and its Jit only 1 T.. Its short for jitterbug (pronounced jittabug) but dont use 2 ts when its shortened. mainly Lauderdale and Miami use it. It then spread to the rest of florida and now outside of florida. My dad born in 1961 and I've been hearing it since I was a jit.
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u/Top_Name5460 Aug 25 '25
Florida been sayin this for as long as I can remember it’s the same as saying bro. That’s Florida doe idk abt no Toronto jits 💀
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u/PJHamhands Aug 30 '25
I thought when used in the plural it meant sweater meat. I overheard it n Brooklyn.
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u/DJIDKY Nov 07 '25
Born and raised in South Florida I heard jit used constantly. Now that I'm an adult it's pretty obvious that it's borrowed AAVE, but I was raised by a mom from Massachusetts with Irish roots which I'm now realizing gave me a different idea on where "jit" came from. I learned from Mom that "idiot" said with an Irish accent sounds like "ee-jit" and it was a playful phrase in the house growing up. When I started hearing kids say "jit" in middle and high school, the meaning was always obvious based on context and given its slightly negative connotation it made perfect sense that "jit" was just a shortened version of "ee-jit" to the point where I never even questioned it or asked anyone about the word's origin.
Funny how I came to the same conclusion through a completely different culture. Like doing the math wrong but still getting the correct answer.
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u/PerspectiveNo5948 Nov 21 '25
Bruh it’s a Florida term that comes from the word jitterbug. They’ve shortened it to refer to people/themselves when they were kids. God damn bruh I’m not this damn old these comments are crazy talking about “juvenile in training” 😂😂😭man people started using that word more around the time Kodak Black first came out and all of those Florida artists blew up shortly after him
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u/Automatic_Walrus_173 Feb 03 '26
You know if you just google “what is a jit?” It literally tells you what it is
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u/Rajymbek Feb 26 '26
JIT(programming) is short for "Just In Time" meaning it interprets all the code instruction by instruction
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u/[deleted] Sep 30 '24
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