Noun/Verb - Signifyin' is a form of street poetry used in the African-American community. Using a rhyme structure, it often contains a series of taunts or boasts. Soemtimes called "playin' the dozens".
Way down in the jungle deep,
The bad ass lion stepped on the signifyin monkey's feet.
The monkey said, "Muthafucka, can't you see?
Why, you standin on my goddamn feet!"
Story of the Signifyin' Monkey who tells the lion (King of the jungle, that in a nearby well, there is a potent adversary. The lion looks down into the well, sees his reflection and growls. When he takes the echo of his own roar to be a challenge he jumps into the well to attack the supposed adversary.
This defuses his power at no cost to the monkey.
The root of the word is "sign", as in pronouncing or interpreting "signs" of the future or important spiritual symbols. This must be related to African or Afro-American religious and spiritual practices involving the serious disucssion of divine signs and their meanings.
In a more general sense, if someone is said to be "signifyin"", it may mean that they are taking themselves to seriously by holding forth on deep portentious subjects in a self-important manner.
One might be describing pretentious intellectualizing or over-bearing preaching about matters which should make us humble by their mystery.
When asked to sign a timesheet at work, the managersaid, "Sure.. in Heberew or English ?"
On which a passing co-worker commented, "There he goes signifyin' again."
Since I happen to be Jewish, I know exactly what he meant.
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