Zigzag (pronounced zig-zag)
(1) A line, course, or progression characterized by sharp
turns first to one side and then to the other.
(2) One of a series of such turns, as in a line or path
(typically in a repeating “Z-like” pattern.
(3) Proceeding or formed in a zigzag:
(4) In sewing, dressmaking etc, a pattern or stitches in
this shape.
(5) In military use (land, sea & air), to move or
manoeuvre in a zigzaging motion, usually as a form of evasion.
(6) In figurative use, something performed in a
non-lineal way, characterized by frequent changes, often in response to
external influences such as criticiam.
(7) As “zigzag
rule”, a rule composed of light strips of wood joined by rivets so as to be
foldable, all the opening and closing parts being in parallel planes.
(8) In World War I (1914-1918) US military slang, a slang
term for “someone drunk”.
1712: From the mid-seventeenth century French zigzag which replaced the earlier ziczac, from the German zickzack, from the Walloon ziczac, a gradational compound based on Zacke (tack) (familiar in English use as
the “zigzagging technique” used in yachting).
It’s thought the coining of the original may have been influenced by the
letter “Z” which appears twice, a “Z” able to be interpreted as a
representation of a “zigzag movement”.
Less supported among etymologists is the alternative theory the German Zickzack was from Zacke
(point; tooth; prong; jagged projection).
The earliest known use in German was to describe military siege approaches, a use adopted (by analogy) by early
English landscape architects (then known as “gardeners”) to the layout of appropriately
shaped paths in parks. It was used as an
adjective from the mid eighteenth century, the first appearing in 1774. The brand of cigarette paper (a favorite of
many stoners because the glue was said to make joints “easier to roll”) was
first sold in 1909. The adjectival use is
common in fabric design and dressmaking, the zigzag pattern widely used. In sewing, a zigzag stitch is one of the
standard set in sewing machines, used usually to finish edges, the attachment to
create such stitches known as a zigzagger.
The hyphenated spelling zig-zag is common. Zigzag is a noun, verb adjective & adverb;
zigzaggedness & zigzagger are nouns
and zigzagged & zigzagging are verbs; the noun plural is zigzags.
ZIG is used as an acronym for a number of purposes
including (1) zoster immune globulin (a globulin fraction of pooled plasma from
patients who have recovered from herpes zoster and used prophylactically for
immuno-suppressed children exposed to varicella and therapeutically to
ameliorate varicella infection), (2) a general-purpose imperative, statically
typed, compiled programming language intended as a modern successor to the C
language and is (3) the abbreviation of Zimbabwe Gold, the official national
currency of Zimbabwe since April 2024; it began in October 2023 as a gold-backed
digital token in October 2023. ZAG is
the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) code for Zagreb
International Airport, Croatia and to describe Zymosan-Activated Granulocytes (a
type of white blood cell (granulocytes) that have been stimulated by exposure
to zymosan, a polysaccharide derived from the cell walls of yeast species like
Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
The feature may be described as either a “zig”
or “zag” because the terms are interchangeable.
However, were there to be two connected gashes which assume opposite
directions: that would be a “zigzag”. While
the nature of the formation of the words “zig” & “zag” is not unique, it is
unusual in that, dating from the late eighteenth century, both were
extractions: back-formation from “zigzag”.
A notable quirk of zig & zag is that interchangeably they can be
used to mean the same thing yet when used in the same sentence, they mean “to
move in opposite directions”. In
separate use, it thus matters not whether one says “she zigged around” or “she
zagged around”; the meaning is the same.
Used together however, the rule is strict: she will always be described
as “zigzagging” and never “zagzigging”.
Zigzag is often intended to be humorous and when applied to politicians
it’s a way of saying they are “being evasive” or “flip-flopping”.
Founded in 1953 by Ottavio (1921-2013) and Rosita (b
1931) Missoni, the house became well-known during the 1960s for their vibrant
and colorful knitwear, the signature motif of which was a distinctive zigzag
pattern. The technology which made the
garments possible was not new, the Missoni’s “re-discovering” the long
discarded “Rachel” machines traditionally used to create the shawls worn in the
south of Italy, devices which permitted an almost infinite variation of lines
and styles within a given design; such things were of course possible using
other machinery but the versatile Rachels allowed changes to be integrated into
the production line process, making possible economies of scale not available
to other manufacturers; all that was required was a quick juggling of the
assembly’s array of multi-colored points and what would emerge was fabric with horizontal
and vertical lines in a rainbow of colors.
Ottavio Missoni did acknowledge the stylistic debt owed, once saying: “For a thousand
years, the Incas have been copying my knit sweaters…”
The event which made Missoni
famous was at the time thought scandalous although, given what these days is worn
on catwalks and red carpets, it seems quaint indeed. After their first, well-received, catwalk
show in 1966, Missoni was invited to the event held in Florence’s Pitti Palace
in April 1967 and it was only during last-minute rehearsals Rosita Missoni
became aware the shape and color of the models’ bras were clearly visible, distracting
attention from the unique zigzagging patterns which were the brand’s
signature. With no time to arrange a fix
like skin-toned bodysuits, her solution was for the models to remove their bras;
that solved the problem but replaced one distraction with another, the
assembled pack of photographers most impressed because, under venue’s unusually
bright lights, the pieces became transparent.
Since dubbed “The Battle of the Bras”, at the time not all
thought the look “appropriate” but it generated much publicity and was one of
the reasons Milan would in the late 1960s emerge as one of the world’s fashion
capitals, the photographers following the Missonis back to Milan. The couple weren’t invited to the next year’s
Pitti Palace show but Vogue, Marie
Claire, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar all provided generous coverage and the
Rubicon has been crossed, Yves Saint-Laurent (1936–2008) in 1968 displaying the
“see-through” look. Since then, it’s
never gone away.
PLA Shenyang J-8II (left) and USN Lockheed EP-3E ARIES II (right)
The phrase “he zigged when he should have zagged” came into common use in the mid-twentieth century and is believed to have been popularized by radio sports commentators who needed something “graphical” to paint a “word picture” of why a football player had been tackled. The origin is thought to be sardonic military humor and a euphemism for “he was killed while attempting an evasive maneuver”. An example of “he zigged when he should have zagged” was the fate of the unfortunate Lieutenant Commander (shao xiao) Wang Wei (1969-2001) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy of the PRC (People’s Republic of China), killed when his Shenyang J-8II interceptor (a Chinese knock-off of the old Soviet-era MiG 21) collided with a US Navy Lockheed EP-3E ARIES II signals reconnaissance aircraft (a development of the old P-3 Orion). The affair became known as the “Hainan Island Incident” because the damaged EP-3 was forced to land on the Chinese territory of Hainan Island, the ensuring diplomatic spat played out over the next ten days, resolved by the US ambassador to Beijing handing to the PRC’s foreign minister the “Letter of the two sorries”; US surveillance flights have continued and the PLA is now more cautious in its shadowing. US pilots noted the dark linguistic coincidence of the name “Wang Wei” being pronounced “wong way”.
Jewish Museum Berlin (2001), overhead view (left), exterior (centre) and interior (right).
Designed by US architect Daniel Libeskind (b 1946) and opened in 2001, Berlin’s Jewish Museum is noted for the “zigzag” theme reflected in its floor plan, exterior surfaces and interior detailing. The “gashes”, a recurring motif, are integral to the design and described as “voids”, deep, empty spaces which “cut their way” through the building, serving as symbols representing the absence, loss, and emptiness left by the Holocaust. The architect’s idea was to evoke a sense of disorientation & fragmentation, recalling the often disrupted history of the Jewish people in Germany (the Holocaust only the most severe of the pogroms suffered). According to the museum, the voids are intended to summon in visitors periods of reflection, silence, and remembrance; a recall of what irrevocably has been lost. In terms of design & effect, one of the most celebrated voids is the "Memory Void" in which houses the installation Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves) by Israeli painter & sculptor Menashe Kadishman (1932–2015), constructed with thousands of metallic faces spread across the floor. On these, visitors walk, producing a haunting sound many report as “intensifying the emotional experience”. Voids are not unusual in museums, galleries and other exhibition spaces but unlike some, those in the Jewish Museum contain no exhibits, reminding visitor of the void in Jewish culture rent by the Holocaust.
