In the song, "Rocky Road to Dublin", is the line "Down among the pigs, I played some funny rigs, Danced some hearty jigs, The water 'round me bubblin".
According to Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary,
a "rig" is a frolic, prank or trick. As a verb it is to manipulate unscrupulously, as in "price-rigging". To "run a rig" is to play a prank. The origin is stated to be "obscure" which usually means it's Irish, Erse or Gaelic but they won't admit it.
Run a rig.... hmm - make a good name for a band...
I forget the linguistic/literary term for it, but "rig-a-jig" is one of those phrases (like "helter skelter", etc) in which a rhythmic effect is achieved by doubling with a rhyming word. In this case, "rig" could just mean "jig".
In any case, the OED has "to hoax" and "to play the wanton" as possible definitions.
according to Brewers (1999) ''There is more than one word rig but their etymological and divisional are not clear-cut.''
(1) a) a shipping term (in a dressing sense)
b) a person's clothing or costume
(2) a carriage (pre motor car, US term)
(3) formerly used for a whore, said to be riggish
(4) hoax or dodge eg. 'to rig the market'
(5) 'Bermuda rig' _ type of sailing boat rig with a tall mainsail
It occurs in a couple of other songs that I know of.
'Up to the Rigs' is a sailors song : I was up to the rigs, down to the jigs, up to the rigs of London town' which in the context is implying cheating on a whore or getting your own back and also what the singer was wearing.
The other is a morris dance - 'Rigs of Marlow' : When you get to Marlow Fair, with the ribbons in your hair, all the boys and girls declare, here comes the Rigs of Marlow. Which seems to infer a 'dandy-like' costume.
I think 'rigs' in that context being pranks etc. is about right.
Run Rig as in the Scottish band means something else - a type of agriculture, something to do with farrows!
Oops! didn't realise so few people had heard of Runrig. Sharon is right, but it set me thinking: there are all these Scottish tunes like "The Rigs of Banff" and so on. So I looked it up in "Chambers Scots Dictionary" - just for completeness, you understand. So here it is:
Rig: A half-castrated animal. A male animal with imperfectly developed organs.
Rig,Rigg : (verb) to cheat, trick. (noun) a frolic, a trick, a spree. (phrase) "on the rig" wandering about at night.
Rig, Rigg: (verb) to deck out, to set up, to prepare, trim. (noun) equipment; good condition ; working order.
Rig, Rigg : (noun) a ridge, a long narrow hill, the spine of a person or animal; the space between the furrows of a field, a section of ploughed field, a section of a field, a field, the first furrow turned in ploughing, a drill for potatoes etc. (verb) to plough, to make ridges in a field by ploughing.
Run-rig, Run-Ridge: (noun) land where the alternate ridges of a field belong to different tenants.
Whew! Had enough Rigs yet?
Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
In the song, "Rocky Road to Dublin", is the line "Down among the pigs, I played some funny rigs, Danced some hearty jigs, The water 'round me bubblin".
Anyone know what a "rig" is?
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by Craymcla
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
According to Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary,
a "rig" is a frolic, prank or trick. As a verb it is to manipulate unscrupulously, as in "price-rigging". To "run a rig" is to play a prank. The origin is stated to be "obscure" which usually means it's Irish, Erse or Gaelic but they won't admit it.
Run a rig.... hmm - make a good name for a band...
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by Innocent Bystander
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
Is it a band?
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by Skull Duggeraigh Dubh
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
It's somewhere between a jig and a reel - in either 7/8 or 3.5/4.
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
I prefer to play them 1.75/2 of a time, a bit like jolkas, or jornpipes.
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by Janek
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
There was that old song that The Sex Pistols did.
"Frigging in the Rigging". Didn't really understand it myself! :-|
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by Johnny Jay
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
seem to think that "Runrig" is already the name of a band ??!! or something!
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by hetty
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
jig runrig
# Posted on March 20th 2005 by Dont
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
I forget the linguistic/literary term for it, but "rig-a-jig" is one of those phrases (like "helter skelter", etc) in which a rhythmic effect is achieved by doubling with a rhyming word. In this case, "rig" could just mean "jig".
In any case, the OED has "to hoax" and "to play the wanton" as possible definitions.
# Posted on March 21st 2005 by s1m0n
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
Runrig is/was a Scotish trad band.
Oh well, maybe call it "Jiggery Pokery" instead.
# Posted on March 21st 2005 by Skull Duggeraigh Dubh
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
according to Brewers (1999) ''There is more than one word rig but their etymological and divisional are not clear-cut.''
(1) a) a shipping term (in a dressing sense)
b) a person's clothing or costume
(2) a carriage (pre motor car, US term)
(3) formerly used for a whore, said to be riggish
(4) hoax or dodge eg. 'to rig the market'
(5) 'Bermuda rig' _ type of sailing boat rig with a tall mainsail
# Posted on March 21st 2005 by lisaniska
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
It occurs in a couple of other songs that I know of.
'Up to the Rigs' is a sailors song : I was up to the rigs, down to the jigs, up to the rigs of London town' which in the context is implying cheating on a whore or getting your own back and also what the singer was wearing.
The other is a morris dance - 'Rigs of Marlow' : When you get to Marlow Fair, with the ribbons in your hair, all the boys and girls declare, here comes the Rigs of Marlow. Which seems to infer a 'dandy-like' costume.
# Posted on March 21st 2005 by The Cat
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
I think 'rigs' in that context being pranks etc. is about right.
Run Rig as in the Scottish band means something else - a type of agriculture, something to do with farrows!
# Posted on March 21st 2005 by The Archivist
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
I found one reference to "rig" being the Irish Gaelic for "rib" - as a slang word meaning a practical joke, teasing or prank.
# Posted on March 21st 2005 by CeolCairdeas
Re: Rocky Road to Dublin - What's a "funny rig"
Oops! didn't realise so few people had heard of Runrig. Sharon is right, but it set me thinking: there are all these Scottish tunes like "The Rigs of Banff" and so on. So I looked it up in "Chambers Scots Dictionary" - just for completeness, you understand. So here it is:
Rig: A half-castrated animal. A male animal with imperfectly developed organs.
Rig,Rigg : (verb) to cheat, trick. (noun) a frolic, a trick, a spree. (phrase) "on the rig" wandering about at night.
Rig, Rigg: (verb) to deck out, to set up, to prepare, trim. (noun) equipment; good condition ; working order.
Rig, Rigg : (noun) a ridge, a long narrow hill, the spine of a person or animal; the space between the furrows of a field, a section of ploughed field, a section of a field, a field, the first furrow turned in ploughing, a drill for potatoes etc. (verb) to plough, to make ridges in a field by ploughing.
Run-rig, Run-Ridge: (noun) land where the alternate ridges of a field belong to different tenants.
Whew! Had enough Rigs yet?
# Posted on March 23rd 2005 by Innocent Bystander