jack in the box

Question

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,

Savvysavz · Accepted Answer

Hi Meantolearn,

Check this out:

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

Meantolearn · Answer

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

Thanks for the reply.

MrPedantic · Answer

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-***, Jack the Ripper...

Meantolearn · Answer

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?

Clive · Answer

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

MrPedantic · Answer

Yes; "jack" has that faintly pejorative sense.

"Jack" for "something that jumps up" occurs both in the old slang term for ***** (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":

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=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

Meantolearn · Answer

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.

MrPedantic · Answer

Yes, that fits.

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

MrP

Khoff · Answer

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.

Clive · Answer

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

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