What does jigsawing mean?
Jigsawing means assembling a jigsaw puzzle or, figuratively, moving through something in a jumbled, irregular way. The literal use is straightforward: a person jigsaws by fitting separate interlocking pieces together to form a larger image. Figuratively, the word can describe someone navigating a complicated collection of information, crossing from one topic or file to another without a smooth progression. “Jigsawing through the records” conveys a sense of piecing together scattered information, while “jigsawing around the room” emphasizes repeated changes of direction. The expression is common in informal and professional English alike, though it is especially associated with puzzle-making as a pastime. It is useful because it conveys both the fragmented character of the material and the process of gradually bringing its parts into a coherent whole.
verbThe present participle of jigsaw: to assemble a jigsaw puzzle, or figuratively to move or work through something in a jumbled or irregular way.
- Assembling a jigsaw puzzle.
- Moving or proceeding in a jumbled, irregular, or zigzag manner.
"They spent the afternoon jigsawing a landscape puzzle around the dining-room table."
"He was jigsawing the border when he realized that two pieces were missing."
"The investigators spent the morning jigsawing through the scattered files."
A jigsaw began as a woodworking tool; its puzzle descendant turned a pile of fragments into a picture.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does jigsawing come from?
The word belongs to the compound jigsaw, which combines jig, a term for a brisk or jerky movement, with saw, the cutting tool. The compound originally referred to a type of cutting tool capable of making curved cuts. Its familiar sense as a puzzle developed later, when wooden pieces cut with such a tool became popular in interlocking puzzle games. The present-participle form jigsawing follows the regular verb pattern of the base word.
Related word forms
How jigsawing is actually used
Commonly used as the present participle of “jigsaw.” In figurative use, it suggests irregular or nonlinear progress rather than simply any form of careful searching.
Easily confused with jigsawing
Jigsaw is the base verb and also names the cutting tool and the puzzle; jigsawing specifically describes the activity of assembling a puzzle or moving in an irregular, jumbled way.