Get a wiggle on

"Get a wriggle on" is an idiom and colloquial expression in the English language, originating in the 18th century. It means to hurry up; get a move on.

• Get a wriggle on, or we'll miss the beginning of the concert.
• If you don't get a wriggle on, we'll miss the first act.

Etymology

In 1891 Wilson's Photographic Magazine published "The American Psalm of Life" which began, "Get a wriggle on, my lad, Don't walk at a funeral pace..."[1] By 1919 the phrase was also used in a song, "Get a wriggle on, get a wriggle on, Don't stand there with a giggle-on."[2] By the 1920s the term had found its way into the American language as slang.[3]

History

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the phrase as meaning to hurry up.[4] Get a wriggle on is both an English language idiom and a Colloquial Expression.[5] The phrase has been in use since 1891 and is still being used in the 21st century.[6] The phrase is also slang in Australia and it appears in the Aussie Slang Dictionary[7]

See also

• List of English-language idioms

References

1. Wilson, Edward (1891). The Photographic Journal of America. New York: Edward L. Wilson. ISBN 978-1343802001. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
2. California Cultivator. Los Angeles CA: The Cultivator Publishing Company. 24 May 1919. p. 737. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
3. Carter, JoAnn (2012). The Roarin' Twenties Book Two. Castaic, Ca: Desert Breeze Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61252-142-8. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
4. "get a wriggle on". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
5. "Get a wriggle on!". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
6. "Time to Get Your Wiggle On". Alameda Sun. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
7. "Get a Wriggle On". Aussie Slang Dictionary. Slang.com.au. 16 February 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2022.