Jack and Jilln.
/ˌdʒak (ə)n(d) ˈdʒɪl/, U.S. /ˌdʒæk (ə)n(d) ˈdʒɪl/ 1. A hypothetical man and woman; male and female representatives of the common or ordinary people. Cf. Jack n.2 1, jill n. 1b.
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the world > people > person > young person > [noun] > young people collectively
youngeOE
youthc897
maidhooda1200
youngth1484
youthhead1562
frya1577
younkery1594
Jack and Jill1621
jeunesse1673
youthhood1690
juvenility1823
jeunesse dorée1828
flaming youth1923
yoof1986
1621 J. Taylor Superbiæ Flagellum sig. B8 If this Law the State would but allow, Some would weare calues skins, that weare veluet now, Then Iacke and Iill, and Iohn a Drones his issue, Would not be trapped thus in Gold and Tissue.
1661 M. Nedham Short Hist. Eng. Rebell. 74 Princes are brav'd by Jack and Jill.
1726 C. Ellison Most Pleasant Descr. Benwel Village 490 Jack and Jill, On fam'd Cow-Hill, Bedeck'd in best Attire.
1773 W. Kenrick Duellist iv. i. 51 The parties Jack and Jill are well matched.
1807 La Belle Assemblée Apr. 208/1 To tradesmen, Jockey, porter, Jack and Jill, He pays his court—but never pays his bill.
1879 L. M. Alcott Let. 17 Sept. in E. D. Cheney L. M. Alcott (1889) x. 252 Jack and Jill are right out of our own circle..; so it will be a ‘truly story’ in the main.
1919 Scribner's Mag. May 530/1 It often seems to the jaded consciousness of courts dealing with discordant domestic relations that Jack and Jill might be better allowed to go their separate ways except when there are children.
2005 P. Dowe Galileo, Darwin, & Hawking iv. 87 We must also account for cases in which two independent witnesses, say Jack and Jill, corroborate each other's testimonies.
2. Originally and chiefly British. [Rhyming slang for bill n.3] A printed or written statement of the money owed for goods or services (see bill n.3 6).
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1931 I. Phillips Dict. Rhyming Slang Put yer ‘mince’ over the ‘Jack and Jill’.
1962 F. Norman Guntz iv. 31 I paid the jack and jill and we left.
1994 A. Nickolds Back to Basics 55 He'll note down what jack-and-jills they want paying.
2004 Sunday Tribune (Ireland) 7 Mar. 24 Went to settle the old Jack and Jill and the bird's like, ‘Sorry, sir. You've reached your credit limit.’
3. Originally and chiefly British. [Rhyming slang for pill n.3] A pill or tablet of a recreational or non-medicinal drug; esp. a tablet of heroin (see Jack n.2 32). Usually in plural.
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1984 J. Green Dict. Contemp. Slang 150/1 Jack and Jill.., pill.
1988 J. Healy Grass Arena x. 118 When somebody pulls out the Jack and Jills—you take a few, of course.
1993 I. Welsh Trainspotting (1994) 204 Thair oan that pure pharmaceutical shite while we're reduced tae crushin up any fuckin jack n jills we kin get oor hands oan.
2008 G. Anderson Cityboy (2009) v. 227 There're twelve grams of that [sc. MDMA]. I've put fifty Jack and Jills in there, too, just for good measure.
2012 Irish Daily Mail (Nexis) 9 June Begging, dealing, and looking to score bobby [heroin], white [cocaine], jack and jills [pills], crack, or simos.
Compounds
C1.
a. attributive. Originally and chiefly U.S. In the sense ‘including or involving both male and female.’Recorded earliest in Jack and Jill party n. at Compounds 1b.
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1890 Daily Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 14 July Misses Hattie Hiler and Dora Perkins give a ‘Jack and Gill’ party on Wednesday evening.
1930 Montana Standard 20 Apr. It was a Jack and Jill, no-hostess supper, with each girl and her boy friend helping to prepare the supper.
1959 Rhinelander (Wisconsin) 21 Sept. 4/8 Rhinelander Girl Scouts are to be invited to a Jack and Jill Rolic..which will be sponsored by the Samoset Boy Scout Council.
1979 Playground (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) Daily News 12 Apr. 7 c (advt.) Jack-n-Jill Easter celebration. Girls dresses..20% off. Boys pants..20% off.
1999 Scunthorpe Evening Tel. (Nexis) 6 July 27 They..lifted trophies in Jack and Jill tournaments.
2012 S. Naylor et al. Bridal Bible x. 339 Many a modern bride and groom are bucking trend and having, for example, a Jack-and-Jill type shower, where the groom is also included.
b.
Jack and Jill party n. U.S. (a) a party attended by male and female guests (now dated); (b) spec. a celebration for a couple soon to be married, to which both male and female friends are invited; cf. stag do n. (b) at stag n.1 Additions; hen do n. at hen n.1 Compounds 3.
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1890 Daily Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 14 July Misses Hattie Hiler and Dora Perkins give a ‘Jack and Gill’ party on Wednesday evening.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 80/3 There's a book..for your table decorations and party plans.., Little Girls' Party, Indian Party for Boys, Jack & Jill Party for Tiny Tots, [etc.].
1948 Blizzard (Oil City, Pa.) 14 June 13/1 (heading) Couple honoured at Jack and Jill Party.
1991 D. Coupland Generation X iii. xxv. 143 Jack-and-Jill Party:..baby showers to which both men and women friends are invited as opposed to only women.
2013 Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels, Texas) 22 Sept. 6 c/1 A couples' [wedding] shower..commonly known as a Jack and Jill party,..can be a luncheon, a laid-back barbeque or a party at a local park.
C2.
a. attributive. Originally and chiefly U.S. In the sense ‘having separate (often matching) facilities for two or more people in a shared space’. Cf. his and hers adj. at his pron.1 Compounds.In early use, designating a bedroom or living area; in later use chiefly designating a bathroom typically situated between two or more bedrooms.
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1954 Independent-Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 19 Dec. f4/1 The only house in California with a ‘Jack and Jill’ room—an all weather play area with separate sleeping quarters all in one room.
1961 Valley News (Van Nuys, Calif.) 30 May 26/1 (advt.) A Jack 'n Jill bath, plus a deluxe master bath.
1987 Orange County (Calif.) Reg. 19 Apr. (advt.) This single story home comes with 3 bedrooms (one's a Jack and Jill arrangement), two baths and a charming dual fireplace.
1999 P. Schrag Paradise Lost (2004) 134 Modern ranch living with three bedrooms, two baths, plus an ‘extra Jack and Jill room’.
2014 Ottumwa (Iowa) Courier 23 Aug. c1/3 The two bedrooms are connected by a jack-and-Jill walk-in closet that is full of shelving.
2015 Walsall Advertiser (Nexis) 10 Sept. 61 There is also a Jack and Jill ensuite shower room serving bedrooms two and three.
b.
Jack and Jill bathroom n. A bathroom with separate (often matching) facilities for two or more people; a shared bathroom directly accessible from two or more bedrooms.
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1966 Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News 9 Oct. 10 d/4 (advt.) Jack and Jill bathroom in master bedroom.
1999 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 15 Sept. 34 Bedrooms two and three have a ‘Jack and Jill’ bathroom, which means that each has a door leading to it.
2008 W. J. Hirsch Designing Perfect House v. 95/1 (caption) The Jack and Jill bath yields an additional linen closet and saves the cost of an additional toilet and shower or bathtub.
2011 T. Ronald Becoming Nancy (2012) xv. 202 My Auntie Iris..finished [painting] her Jack and Jill bathroom.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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