jumping jacks
English translation: originates from the stick toy
| 15:50 Oct 11, 2004 |
| English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO] Electronics / Elect Eng | ||||
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|  Selected response from: Refugio Local time: 00:37 | |||
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| SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED | ||||
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| 5 +2 | originates from the stick toy |
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| 4 | jumped like a mule |
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Answers
4 mins confidence: 
jumped like a mule Explanation: Merriam-Webster Main Entry:jumping jack Function:noun Date:1883 1 : a toy figure of a man jointed and made to jump or dance by means of strings or a sliding stick 2 : a conditioning exercise performed from a standing position by jumping to a position with legs spread and arms raised and then to the original position Mike :) -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 mins (2004-10-11 15:56:02 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Constitution* is allegedly reported in journals of the early 1800s to have had one 24-pdr that jumped like a mule and, reportedly, was named *Jumping Jack* for *Jumping Jack* Harradan, Sailing Master during the first Barbary Campaign. I have yet been unable to confirm this report in official sources and, if mythical, it is at least a funny and instructive story -------------------------------------------------- Note added at 5 mins (2004-10-11 15:56:32 GMT) -------------------------------------------------- Seaways\' Shipmodeling List Archives -- 1999 ... Disregarding this, about the only thing that certain about the etymology of the ... that jumped like a mule and, reportedly, was named *Jumping Jack* for *Jumping ... www.seaways.com/subarc99/constitution.htm - 101k - Cached - Similar pages |
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43 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +2
peer agreement (net): +2originates from the stick toy Explanation: A wooden stick toy whose arms and legs move up when a string is pulled down dates back at least to the seventeenth century in Europe, and probably much earlier. Interesting note: during the period of Napoleon's occupation of Bavaria, a Jumping Jack was carved in the Ammergau woodcarving workshops, depicting a French soldier on the one side and a buffoon on the other. The word jack just means man, as John has been and continues to be the most common man's name in English. Related terms are: jack-in-the-box, a hand-cranked music-box toy from which a jester jumps up johnny-jump-up, a flower (viola tricolor) which is so early blooming that it often pops up through the snow |
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