Meaning
A spinning top — a hand-carved or bought wooden top that children spin by winding and pulling a string, competing to see whose spins longest or trying to knock and split a rival's top with their own. A beloved old-time Jamaican toy and street game, the gig belongs to the world of boyhood play alongside the kite and the cyattie, and learning to wind and throw one true was a childhood skill. Its whirring spin on the road or the yard is a fond memory of times gone by.
Examples
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Him carve a gig outta a piece a wood.
He carved a spinning top out of a piece of wood.
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Spin yuh gig an mek wi see who last longest.
Spin your top and let's see whose lasts longest.
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Di gig spin till it drop.
The top spun until it fell over.
Origin
An old English dialect word for a spinning top, kept alive in Jamaican children's play.
How it’s used
A traditional spinning-top toy and game; distinct from the English 'gig' (a music show).