"JIZZ" 



A WEST Coast Irishman was familiar with the wild 

 creatures which dwelt on or visited his rocks and 

 shores; at a glance he could name them, usually correctly, 

 but if asked how he knew them would reply, " By their 

 'jizz.'" 



What is jizz ? The spelling is uncertain; probably its 

 author could not have informed us, whoever its inventor 

 was; it is certainly not in most dictionaries. Possibly 

 the word has never before been written, so that we are 

 justified in spelling it phonetically. We have not coined 

 it, but how wide its use in Ireland we cannot say; it may 

 have origin in this one fertile Celtic brain, or it may have 

 been handed down from father to son for many genera- 

 tions. One thing is certain; it is short and expressive. 

 If we are walking on the road and see, far ahead, someone 

 whom we recognise although we can neither distinguish 

 features nor particular clothes, we may be certain that 

 we are not mistaken; there is something in the carriage, 

 the walk, the general appearance which is familiar; it is, 

 in fact, that individual's jizz. 



Jizz may be applied to or possessed by any animate 

 and some inanimate objects, yet we cannot clearly define 

 it. A single character may supply it, or it may be the 

 combination of many; it may be produced by no one in 

 particular. As a rule it is character rather than character- 

 istics, the tout ensemble of the subject. Perhaps the out- 

 door naturalist, and in particular the field ornithologist, 

 realises the full value of jizz better than most people. 

 At a distance, too far away to see details of form, colour, 



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