Thursday 11 April 2013

J is for Jack (Absolutely nothing to do with romance unless…)



There are a lot of ways I could go with this chosen word. I could talk about the name Jack, which always brings to mind Jack Tripper from the show Three’s Company.


Jack the Ripper who I don’t like to think about at all. Jack in the box. The term ‘jack off’ came to mind, but I’m not headed there. And the list goes on and on.

I’d like to write about the phrase “And before he could say jack.” It’s very popular here in Ghana and every time I hear it I smile and wonder why people would say jack in the first place. Today, you get the scoop about what the phrase means.

According to The Phrase Finder it is based on a man named Jack Robinson. This is part of what they have to say.

It would be pleasing to be able to point to a historical figure called Robinson who was the source of this expression. Regrettably, we can't. It could well be that there was an actual Jack Robinson who was reputed to be quick in some way, but, if that's the case, any reliable record of him has disappeared. It is just as likely that Jack Robinson was a mythical figure and no more real than Jack Tar, Jack Frost or Jack the Giant Killer.

It is known that the phrase was in circulation by the end of the 18th century as Mme. Frances D'Arblay (Fanny Burney) used it then in her romantic novel Evelina, or the history of a young lady's entrance into the world in 1778.

"Done!" cried Lord Merton; "I take your odds."
"Will you?" returned he; "why, then, 'fore George, I'd do it as soon as say Jack Robinson."

Hmmm. So I’ve linked up the popular jack phrase with romance after all. Go me!


Are there any phrases that tickle you that you have no clue about where they came from?

Check out the other blogs participating in the A to Z challenge.

14 comments:

  1. Ha! I didn't know that about that phrase. Gotta love the history of some phrases.

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  2. I don't think I've ever heard that phrase - a fun post on it's origin. This has certainly been a educational week for me learning new phrases, LOL.

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    1. I don't think I had heard it before coming to Ghana. It is a very popular phrase here.

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  3. Is it a strange coincidence??? We both picked J for JACK!!! Although, mine stands for my brother named Jack. It's a great name!

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    1. There are no coincidences, or so they say. It's cool that we chose the same word.

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  4. Fascinating! There are all kinds of Jacks, us storytellers know quite a few of them. Jack is... well, Jack :)
    Cheers to A to Z!

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  5. Interesting topic. I've heard that phrase so much, but never really thought about where it came from. As to your question, I know there was a phrase I was wondering about just a couple of days ago...but I don't remember what it was! Wow it's great to be senile at 30 ...

    Anyway. Happy Blogging!
    Kaye Draper at Write Me

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    1. Senile at thirty- LOL. I think that's when senility begins for most of us. Thanks for commenting Kaye.

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  6. Another "jack" phrase is "Cut me some slack, jack." I think it was also the name of a song.
    Thanks for visiting my blog! :)

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    1. Thanks for another jack saying Sarah. It sounds like something from the 70's.

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  7. we sure do like saying that phrase in Ghana. I use it a lot myself. I think It's got a lot to do with being slippery and all

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    1. The first time I heard the saying, my friend was telling a serious story and I laughed.

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