jack-knife 
jack-knife (jak'nif), . [K. dial, jark-lnti-knifc, 
also jin-l, <//,,/-,; Sc. jnrl.-i, ,',!/, said to bo "from 
Jacques tie Liege, a cclfhi-iiti-il cutler" (Jamie- 
son) of Liege (D. Luik); but proof is wanting. 
Cf. Sc. jockteleeiii; an almanac, i. o. 'Jack the 
liar,' in allusion to its weather predictions.] 
1. A pocket-knifo larger than a penknife. 
2. A horn-handled clu.s|>-kuiiV with a laniard, 
worn by seamen. K. II. Knight. 3. A form 
of terminal used for making connections in 
central telephone-stations. See jack 1 , 11 (I). 
Jack-knife carpenter (naut.), one wno Is skilful in 
using a jack-knife, as In making models of vessels, carv- 
ing, scrimshawing, and the like. Jack-knife gull, tin- 
least tern, Sterna antUlarum. [New Eng.] 
jack-ladder (jak'lad'er), . Same as JacoVs- 
linlder, 1. 
jack-lamp (jak'lamp), . 1. A Davy lamp, with 
the addition of a glass cyl- 
inder outside the gauze. 
[Erig.] 2. Same aajack 1 , 
11 (j). 
Occasionally acarinon is killed 
at night by the light of a jade- 
lamp while seeking the grass 
growing In some boatable 
stream. 
Harper's Mag., JLXXVII. 610. 
jack-lantern (jak 'Ian '- 
tern), n. 1 . Same as jack 1 , 
11 (j). 2. Same as Jack- 
o'-lantern, 2. 
jack-light (jak 'lit), n. 
Same asjack'-, 11 (j). 
jack-loutt, . A lout. Compare jack-fool. 
jackman (jak 'man), n. ; pi. jackmen (-men). 
[< jack% + man.] "1. A soldier wearing a jack; 
especially, a follower of a nobleman or knight. 
The Scottish laws . . . had In vain endeavoured to re- 
strain the damage done to agriculture by the chiefs and 
landed proprietors retaining in their service what are call- 
ed Jack-men, from the jack, or doublet quilted with iron, 
which they wore as defensive armour. These military re- 
tainers . . . lived in great measure by plunder, and were 
ready to execute any commands of their master, however 
unlawful. Scott, Monastery, ix. 
2. A cream-cheese. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
3f. A person who made counterfeit licenses, 
etc. Fraternitye of Vacabondes, p. 4. (Halli- 
well.) 
jack-matet, n. A fellow or companion. 
Leane not vpon the Boord when that your mayster Is 
thereat, 
For then will all your Elders thlnke yon be with him lack 
mate. Babeet Book (E. K T. 8.), p. W>. 
jack-meddlert, n. A busybody. Nares. 
A jacke-medler, or busie-body in everie mans matter, ar- 
dello. Withals, Diet. (ed. 1608), p. 263. 
jack-nasty (jak'nas'ti), it. A sneak or a sloven. 
[Eng.] 
Tom and his younger brothers . . . went on playing with 
the village boys, without the Idea of equality or inequality 
. . . ever entering their heads, as It doesn't till it's put 
there by Jack Xastys or flue ladies'-maids. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Rugby, L S. 
3211 
some player can open the betting with a pair 
of jacks or better. 
jack-pudding (jak ' pud ' ing), n. [< jack 1 + 
pudding, liko O. Hanswurst ('Jack-sausage'), 
P. Jeini-initiii/f ( 'Jack-soup'), a buffoon, merry- 
andrew, being combinations of a characteris- 
tic national nickname with a characteristic na- 
tional article of food.] [cap. or I.e.] Amerry- 
andrew ; a buffoon. 
And I persuade myself, the extempore rhymes of some 
antic jack pudding may deserve printing better ; so far am 
I from thinking uught he says worthy of a serious answer. 
"" i, Def. of the People of Eng., L 
Jack-pudding in his party-colour'd jacket 
Tones the glove, ana jokes at every packet. Bay. 
He was attended by a monkey, which he had trained to 
act the part of a jack-pudding, a part which he had for- 
merly acted himself. 
Granger, quoted In Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 825. 
jack-rabbit (jak'rab'it), n. One of several 
species of large prairie-hares, notable for the 
Jack-lamp (def. I). 
Jack-rabbit (Lrfui callolis). 
length of their limbs and oars, as Lepus campes- 
tris, L. callotis, etc. [Western U. S.] 
Jack Rabbit, whose dlsproportionally great ear-develop- 
ment has earned him this title, Jack being jackass in brief. 
Sportsman's Gazetteer, p. 9j. 
jack-rafter (jak'raf'ter), n. In arch., any raf- 
ter that is 
shorter than 
the usual 
length of 
the rafters 
used in the 
same build- 
ing. Such 
rafters oc- 
cur especial- 
ly in hip- 
roofs. 
jack-rib (jak'rib), n. In arch., any rib in a 
framed arch or dome shorter than the rest. 
jack-roll (jak'rol), . In mining, a windlass. 
[Eng.] 
" 'sam'on), n. Apercoid fish of 
ti^rt. 
A, A, jack-rafters ; BC, BC, hip-rafters. 
a parrot. Alsojafco. 
jack-oak (jak'ok), n. [Amer.] An American 
oak, Quercits nigra. Also called black-jack. 
Jack-o'-lantern (jak'o-lan'tern), n. [AlsoJaefc- 
a-lantern; abbr. of Jack of (or with) thelantern.] 
1. Same as ignis fatutts, or will-o'-the-wisp. 2. 
A lantern used in children's play, made of the 
rind of a pumpkin or of a similar vegetable, 
in which incisions are made to represent eyes, 
nose, and mouth ; a pumpkin-lantern. [U. S.] 
Jack-o'-Lent (jak'o-lenf), n. [Also Jack-a- 
Lent, orig. Jack of "Lent.] 1. A ragged figure 
used as a symbol or personification of Lent 
in processions, etc. Hence 2. A puppet at 
which boys throw sticks in Lent. 
Thou didst stand six weeks the Jack of Lent, 
For boys to hurl, three throws a penny, at thee. 
B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, iv. S. 
O ye plttif nl Simpletons, who spend your days in throw- 
Ing Cudgels at Jack a- Lenta or Shrove-Cocks. 
Lady Alimony, 1659, slg. I. 4. 
jack-pin (jak'pin), n. Naut., a belaying-pin. 
jack-pit (jak'pit), n. In coal-mining, a shal- 
low shaft communicating with an air-crossing, 
or situated at a fault. [Eug.] 
jack-plane (jak'plau), n. In carp., a plane 
about 18 inches long used by joiners for coarse 
work. See plane. 
jack-pot (jak'pot), n. In draw-poker, a pot or 
pool in which the ante must be repeated until 
If I wotted It would have made him such a Jack sauce 
as to have more wit than his vorefathers, he should have 
learn'd nothing for old Agroicus, but to keep a talley. 
Randolph, Muses' Looking-Glass, iv. 4. 
jack-saw (jak'sa), n. The goosander, Mergus 
merganser: probably so called from the con- 
spicuous teeth of the bill. [Prov. Eng.] 
jack-screw (jak'skrS), n. 1. See jack*, 11 (6). 
2. The screw-mechanism forming part of a 
dental instrument called a screw-jack (which 
see), for regulating the teeth. 
jack-sinker ( jak' sing 'k6r), . In stocking- 
frames and other knitting-machines, a flat 
piece of metal attached to a jack or oscillating 
lever. In these machines a series of such levers and 
sinkers are employed, the jack-sinkers acting in conjunc- 
tion with a series of sinkers attached to a bar to press the 
thread down between the hooked needles and form loops, 
which are engaged by the needles and drawn through the 
next previously formed set of loops. See knitting-ma- 
rl, /<-. 
jack-slavet (jak'slav'), n. A low servant; a 
vulgar fellow. 
Every jackslatx hath his belly-full of fighting, and I 
must go up and down like a cock that no body can match. 
Shak., Cymbeline, ii. 1, 22. 
jacksmith (jak'smith), n. A smith who makes 
jacks for chimneys. 
jack-snipe (jak'snij)). H. [(.jack 1 + snipe. Cf. 
W. giacli (with g hard), a snipe.] 1 . The lesser 
snipe or half-snipe, Scolopax or Gallinago gal- 
jackstraw 
Hindu. Also called judcocl.; juddnck. [Eng.] 
2. The common American snipe, Galliinii/n 
icitjioni. [U.S.] 3. The pectoral sandpiper, 
Trinija maculata. [U. 8.1 4. The dunlin or 
purre, Triiiga alpina. [Shetland Islands.] 
Jackson (jak'son), n. [That is, Jack?* son. The 
surname Jackson , < ME. Jakijs son, is of the same 
origin.] A silly fellow. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
Jacksonia (jak-so'ni-a), ii. [NL. (R. Brown, 
1811); named after an English botanist, G. 
Jackson.'] A genus of the order Legvminosa;, 
containing 28 species of shrubs or shrub-like 
plants, all Australian. The genus Is conspicuously 
marked by the absence of leaves, which are replaced by 
flattened and leaf-like or by spine-like branches. Several 
species are cultivated for ornament. ome are valued 
for browsing in the native aiid regions. J. icuparia 1* 
locally called dogwood and Jacttim'ibrootn. 
Jacksonian (jak-so'ni-an), a. and n. [< Jack- 
son (see def.) + -iaw.] 1. a. 1. Of or pertaining 
to some person named Jackson. 2. In V. S. 
hist., pertaining or relating to Andrew Jack- 
son, the seventh President of the United States, 
serving two terms (1829-37), and for many years 
one of the most prominent leaders of the Dem- 
ocratic party, or to his political principles: as, 
Jarksonifin ideas; the Jacksonian Democracy. 
Jacksonian epilepsy (so called from Dr. Hughlings 
Jackson), epilepsy in which the spasms are local, as in the 
jaw-muscles, the arm, leg, or one side. Such spasms are 
also called mnnatpaxmt, or, when they are followed by gen- 
eral convulsions, priftogpafmt. 
II. n. A member of the Democratic party at- 
tached to the political ideas ascribed to Jackson. 
During the period of Jackson's administrations and In- 
fluence the belief In the power of the masses of the peo- 
ple was greatly increased, and the policy of the Demo- 
cratic party became fixed In favor of small expenditures 
In the national government. The introduction on a large 
scale of the "patronage" or "spoils" system into the 
Federal civil service dates from the same period. 
Jackson's-broom ( jak'sonz-brom), n. See Jack- 
sonia. 
jack-Spaniard (jak'span'yard), n. A hornet. 
[Local.] 
Then all, sitting on the sandy turf, defiant of galllwasps 
&d jack-spaniards, and all the weapons of the Insect host, 
partook of the equal banquet. 
Kingdey, Westward Ho, xvii. 
jack-spinner (jak'spin'er), . In spinning, an 
operator who tends and operates a jack. 
jack-staff (jak'staf), n. Xaut., the staff upon 
which the flag called the jack is hoisted. It is 
generally set at the head of the bowsprit. 
The stars and stripes for the stern, the boat-flag for the 
jacksta/, and two blue flags for the wheel-houses. 
Prebte, Hist, of the Flag, p. 609. 
jack-stay (jak'sta), n. Naut. : (a) One of a set 
of ropes, iron rods, or strips of wood attached 
to a yard or gaff for bending a square sail to. 
(6) A rod or rope running up and down on the 
forward side of a mast, on which the square- 
sail yard travels ; a traveler. 
jackstone (jak'ston), . [A form of chackstone, 
chuckie-stone : see chuck-*, chuckie^.] One of a 
set of pebbles, or of small cast-iron pieces with 
rounded projections, which children throw up 
and try to catch in various ways, as one, or two, 
or more at a time on the back of the hand, etc., 
as in the game of dibs. See dib 3 . 
jackstraw (jak'stra), . [<Jocfci + straw; orig. 
jack of straw.] 1. A figure or effigy of a man 
made of straw; hence, a man without any sub- 
stance or means ; a dependent. Also jack of 
straw. 
You are a saucy Jackstraw to question me, faith and 
troth. Wyclierlty, Love In a Wood, L 2. 
How now, madam ! refuse me ! I command you on your 
obedience to accept of this ; I will not be a jackstraw fa- 
ther. Richardson, Sir Charles Grandlson, VII. 63. 
If ... Salmasius is called "an Inconsiderable fellow 
and a jack-straw," why should I not know what a jackrtraw 
Is, without recurring to some archaic glossary for this 
knowledge? 
Abp. Trench, On some Deficiencies in Eug. Dicta. 
2. One of a set of straws or strips of ivory, 
wood.bone, or the like, used in a children's game. 
The jackstraws are thrown confusedly together on a table, 
and are to be gathered np singly by the hand, sometimes 
with the aid of a hooked instrument, without joggling or 
disturbing the rest of the pile. 
3. pi. The game thus played. 
One evening Belinda was playing with little Charles 
Percival at jackstratm. . . . " You moved. Miss Portman," 
cried Charles. " Oh. indeed the king's head stirred the 
very instant papa spoke. I knew It was impossible that 
you could get that knave clear oh* without shaking the 
king." Miss Bdgeworth, Belinda, xlx. 
4. [cop.] In Eng. hist., a name assumed by 
rick-burners and destroyers of machines dur- 
ing the early years of the nineteenth century. 
5. The whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea, also called 
iriiinell-xtraie, from the straw used in making 
