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by Oxyfreshness on March 5th, 2007

Oxyfreshness

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Does the J in J-walk stand for something?

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  • by PrettyPirate on March 5th, 2007

    PrettyPirate

    The word jaywalker is able to be traced back to 1917, though it may have been in use as early as 1900. It is generally considered to have originated in the United States, possibly from the city of Boston. It is a compound word of the words jay and walk; in this context, jay is used in the obsolete slang sense, referring to a stupid or dull person, or a rube, i.e. someone from a rural area and not familiar with "city ways". At the time, vehicles and traffic signals were a new concept, gaining popularity in the larger cities, so this term would have been used to describe newcomers who were unfamiliar with these recent developments and by extension, to ridicule people who behaved like newcomers but should have known better.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-walking

    Comments

    • I've also wondered where the term came from. Interesting. +pts.

      Mrs.Dufresne

      by Mrs.Dufresne on March 5th, 2007

    • The explanation of "jay" as meaning a greenhorn is probably a more solid explanation as your colorful alternative. Indeed, it is likely that the more "colloquial" variant stems from the polite one - but there are exceptions (take "SNAFU", for instance)

      SonzTwin

      by SonzTwin on March 5th, 2007

    • What does 'i.e.' mean? Pretty pirate?

      ms_chuck.littles

      by ms_chuck.littles on August 28th, 2011

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