ESL Vocabulary and Idioms

Re: jack in the box

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 20:33:20 GMT

"Jack" is another name for the devil. What this toy represents is... the cube is supposed to be the world, and this means that the devil is really here in the world waiting for the right time to come out. That's what I think. Pop goes the WEASEL!!!!

Re: jack in the box

Robyn Terri — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:50:32 GMT

In Australia if you wanted to tell someone they know nothing, and if you wanted to be rude about it you would say that they "know jack ***".

Re: jack in the box

Clive — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:25:23 GMT

Hi,

The origins of these common terms are often hard to pin down. Wikipedia, for example, says this:

Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. Common folklore holds that his origins come from the men of an army base in Troy, New York, who would receive barrels of meat stamped with the initials U.S. The soldiers jokingly referred to it as the initials of the meat supplier, Uncle Samuel Wilson. The 87th United States Congress adopted the following resolution on September 15, 1961: "Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives that the Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America's National symbol of Uncle Sam." A monument marks his birthplace in Arlington, Massachusetts. However, counter-arguments to this theory have been raised by some ... so the precise origin of the term may never be proven.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: jack in the box

khoff — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 05:14:55 GMT

What about "Uncle Sam"? You don't say "Uncle Jack", do you?

I believe "Uncle Sam" comes from the initials "U.S." Uncle Sam is a symbol of the United States.

Re: jack in the box

MrPedantic — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 22:50:24 GMT

Yes, that fits.

It's short for "jack plug". So maybe "jack" here also means "small".

MrP

Re: jack in the box

meantolearn — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 18:09:26 GMT

Hi MrP&Clive,

I can think of another device, phone jack. (male connector)

We plug a phone jack (male connector) in the socket (female connector) on the wall.

We don't calle it phone david/john/paul...etc.

Don't you agree this is another example?

Thanks for the replies.

Re: jack in the box

MrPedantic — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 11:39:58 GMT

Yes; "jack" has that faintly pejorative sense.

"Jack" for "something that jumps up" occurs both in the old slang term for penis (cf. "jack off") and the word for the small part in a harpsichord that holds the plectrum. Shakespeare combines the two thoughts in sonnet 128:

How oft when thou (my music) music play'st,
Upon that blessèd wood whose motion sounds
With thy sweet fingers when thou gently sway'st,
The wiry concord that mine ear confounds,
Do I envy those Jacks that nimble leap,
To kiss the tender inward of thy hand...

Etymonline gives this suggestion for "jack in the box":

jack-in-the-box

1570, originally a name for a sharp or cheat, "who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money" [Robert Nares, "A Glossary of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions," London, 1905]. As a type of toy, it is attested from 1702.

So again, "jack" would be slightly pejorative.

MrP

Re: jack in the box

Clive — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 04:03:41 GMT

Hi,

"Jack' is certainly a long-standing and traditional way of referring to the common man. We still see it today on such terms as lumberjack, steeplejack, every man-jack in the navy. It doesn't surprise me that it's 'Jack in the Box' rather than 'Clive in the Box'. Such things come about for traditional and/or historical reasons.

There's also a connection to 'knave', in the sense of the common man with a more roguish character. That's why we can speak, in cards, of either the Jack of Diamonds or the Knave of Diamonds.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: jack in the box

meantolearn — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 02:01:13 GMT

Hi, MrP.

I'm not sure you answered my question. I was asking why the small item being popped out was so called "jack" rather than other given names such as john, david, paul...etc. ?

You wrote, "It's always jack, Jack."

What about "GI Joe"? You don't say "GI Jack", do you?

What about "Uncle Sam"? You don't say "Uncle Jack", do you?

What about "Lazy Susan"? You don't say "Lazy Jack", do you?

Re: jack in the box

MrPedantic — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 23:28:44 GMT

It's always jack, Jack:

Jack-a-dreams, Jack-a-Lent, Jack-a-napes, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, Jack Ketch, Jack-pudding, Jack Tar, Jack Sauce, Jumping Jack, Union Jack, Jack Sprat, Jack o' Lantern, Jumping Jack Flash, Jack Frost, Jack i' th' Green, every man Jack of them, Jack-slave, Jack Straw, Jack-in-office, Jack of all trades, Jack and Jill, Jack the Giant Killer, Jack of Diamonds, Little Jack Horner, boot jack, bottle jack, jack boot, black jack, jackdaw, jack-ass, Jack the Ripper...

Re: jack in the box

meantolearn — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 22:29:07 GMT

I still wonder why the toy or clown is so called "jack"? Why not david, john, paul...etc. ?

Thanks for the reply.

Re: jack in the box

Savvysavz — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 09:49:12 GMT

Hi Meantolearn,

Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-in-the-box

jack in the box

meantolearn — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 06:52:33 GMT

1. An American fast food store is so called. Does anyone know why?

2. Why jack-in-the-box? Why not john-in-the-box or david-in-the-box...etc?

Thanks,