jiggern.1
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ I. A person who jigs, and related uses.
1.
a. One who ‘jigs’ or dances a jig. Also, in dialect, An odd-looking person, a ‘guy’. Cf. jig n.1 7.
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society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > lively dances > [noun] > jig > dancer
jigger1675
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > [noun] > grotesqueness > person
mammet1461
scarecrow1590
antic1597
fright1751
figure1774
jigger1825
guy1836
flibbertigibbet1878
worricow1894
1675 C. Cotton Burlesque upon Burlesque 168 Venus... O how I'le trip it at thy wedding. Paris. Nay, you'r a jigger, we all know.
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Jigger, an airy, swaggering person. ‘A comical jigger’.
1880 Jamieson's Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (new ed.) Jigger, a term of reproach or disrespect.
b. A light shoe. U.S.
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1841 Southern Literary Messenger 7 646/2 He then dressed himself with more than ordinary care, discarding his ‘stitch-downs’ for his ‘jiggers’ (his pumps).
c. In full, jigger coat. A woman's short loosely-fitting jacket.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > jacket > loose
baju1820
shirt-jacket1826
camisole1847
Norfolk jacket1866
jigger1957
1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 190/2 Jigger coat, short semi-tailored, informal coat.
1966 Olney Amsden & Sons Ltd. Price List 30 50 numbers Pinarettes, Aprons and Jiggers.
1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 36 Jigger, a jacket popular in the 1930s—loose, finger-tip length, often with a tuxedo front.
1974 Times 12 Feb. 11/7 I thought this little mink jigger..was a coming look.
d. New Zealand. (See quot. 1971.)
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the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > lumbering equipment > board to stand on
springboard1883
jigger-board1944
jigger1961
1961 Countryman 58 iii. 500 The axeman has to insert at least two ‘jiggers’ or steps.
1966 Wanganui (N.Z.) Photo News 4 June 43/2 (caption) Champion axeman Sonny Bolstad is watched by the Queen Mother as he competes in a jigger chop.
1971 F. C. Ford-Robertson Terminol. Forest Sci. 252/2 Jigger(-board) (New Zealand).., a short board or plank, its end notched into the bole, on which the cutter stands so as to enable him to fell the tree at a level not reachable from the ground.
II. Technical senses.
2. Nautical.
a. A small tackle consisting of a double and a single block and a fall, used for various purposes; esp. one used to hold on the cable when it is heaved into the ship.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > tackle or purchase > [noun] > consisting of single, double fall
jigger1726
jigger-tackle1769
handy billy1829
1726 Four Years Voy. Capt. G. Roberts 119 To enable the little Boy to hold on, I made him a Jigger with a Block fix'd to the Cable, and a Rope reev'd through it, so that having a double Purchase [etc.].
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine (at cited word) The jigger is..useful when the cable is either slippery with mud..or when it is stiff and unwieldy.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxii. 66 The sails were furled with great care, the bunts triced up by jiggers.
1847 A. C. Key Narr. Recov. H.M.S. Gorgon (1866) 28 Bousing the casks close to the ships side with a jigger.
b. A small sail: see quot. 1867.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > sails set near stern > specific
driver1750
ringtail1769
spanker1794
storm mizzen1794
jigger1831
1831 [see jigger mast n. at Compounds 2].
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Jigger,..a small sail rigged out on a mast and boom from the stern of a cutter, etc.
1894 Times 1 June 11/4 To steady her..a jigger was run up at the stern.
c. Short for jigger mast n. at Compounds 2.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > mast > mizzen-mast > aftermost
bonaventure1704
jigger mast1831
jigger1880
1880 Times 23 Oct. 5/4 She has four masts, the fore and main masts carrying yards, a large spread of fore and aft canvas being provided for the mizzenmast and the jigger.
d. A small vessel of the smack type furnished with a ‘jigger’ sail: see 2b; a similar vessel used as a fishing-vessel on the N.E. coast of North America.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > fishing vessel > [noun] > other types of fishing vessel
spindlers-boat1243
manfare1326
stall boat1328
dogger1338
hackboat1344
coble1493
peter-boat1540
monger1558
trimboat1558
shotter1580
crab-skuit1614
fly-boat1614
cantera1642
dogger-boat1646
cag1666
yawl1670
barca-longa1681
hogboat1784
fishing-smack1785
hooker1801
hatch-boat1828
pinkie1840
fishing-bark1841
pookhaun1851
garookuh1855
jigger1860
fisher-bark1862
fisher-keel1870
Norwegian1872
scaf1877
mule coble1883
mule1884
Zulu1884
novy1885
tosher1885
skipjack1887
fleeter1888
fishing-float1893
rodney1895
mutton-ham boat1899
nobby1899
sinagot1927
sport fisherman1937
sport fisher1940
ski-boat1964
belly boat1976
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > vessel with specific number of masts > types of vessel with two masts > yawl > types of
dandy1858
jigger1860
1860 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 3) Jigger, a small fishing vessel. New England.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Jigger..3..e. A fishing-vessel whose rig corresponds to that of a cutter, excepting a small mizzen in the stern.
1891 Times 16 Oct. 9/6 The jigger Petril, of Port Bannatyne, with gravel, is supposed to have foundered, as she has not been heard of since leaving Blairmore.
3. Mining.
a. One who dresses or ‘jigs’ ore; see jig v. 5.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > one who washes or dresses ore
vanner1671
buddler1747
cobber1778
jigger1778
jigman1849
puddler1855
buddle-boy1860
spaller1884
tozer1885
stamps-man1891
gravitater1894
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis 234–5 The jigger holds a coarse wire sieve..while another person throws the unclean Ore into the sieve, which the jigger dips into the water and shakes twice or thrice.
b. An apparatus for dressing ore and separating it into layers of varying fineness; consisting wholly or essentially of a sieve, or a box with holes, which is shaken up and down in water, or into which water is forced.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for treating ores > [noun] > for dressing ore
trunk1653
griddle1778
jigger1778
jigging-sieve1778
ore-dresser1811
jig1849
joggling-table1849
brake-sieve1881
jigging-machine1884
grid-
1778 W. Pryce Mineralogia Cornubiensis Gloss. at Jigging [The larger particles of ore] lie at the bottom of the Jigging-sieve or Jigger.
1874 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 499 The mining laboratory now contains..a little hand-jigger, a rotary pulverizer, and a fan-blower.
4. A contrivance for catching fish: = jig n.1 6c. Also, in ice-fishing (Canadian).
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > hook > [noun] > hooks fastened together
snap-hook1688
snapper1688
springer1688
jigger1815
snap1839
dree-draw1850
stroke-haul1850
triangle1867
gang1879
black doctor1883
murderer1883
trap-hook1883
treble hook1895
treble1897
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > other fishing equipment > [noun] > ice-fishing devices
jigger1815
tip-up1850
tilt-up1891
1815 Sporting Mag. 45 153 Cod lines and pouting, and jigger likewise.
1884 Weekly Scotsman 23 Feb. 1/6 The method of capturing them [cuttle or squid] is known as jigging, the jigger consisting of a number of hooks radiating from a fixed center of lead. No bait is used. The jigger is lowered to the bottom where it is constantly kept moving up and down till the squid is felt upon it.
1946 Beaver June 17/1 The jigger is a wooden plank with a slot in the middle through which a wooden arm controlled by a metal lever, moves.
1972 D. Pryde Nunaga i. 16 The ice is eight feet thick on the lakes and it's almost impossible to set a net without a jigger. We had a jigger in here once and showed the Eskimos how to use it to string a net under the ice, but no one ever bothered to make one.
5. The name of numerous mechanical contrivances or devices, used in many trades and operations. Among these may be specified: † p. Radio. A high-frequency transformer used in early spark transmitters to couple the aerial circuit to the circuit in which the oscillations were generated; an oscillation transformer. Obsolete.
a. Pottery. A horizontal lathe used in china-making. Also, a templet or former used to shape the insides of rounded or dome-shaped vessels.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > pottery manufacturing equipment > [noun] > potter's lathe
potter's lathe1728
throwing wheel1746
throwing engine1747
lathe1773
jigger1825
jolley?1881
kick-wheel1893
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 463 For forming saucers, and other small circular articles, there has been recently introduced a small vertical shaft, called a jigger, on the top of which is a turned head, suited to receive the mould on which the saucers, &c. are to be formed.
1875 Guide Royal Porcelain Wks. 13 The mould that gives the form to the face of the plate or saucer is fixed on a horizontal lathe called a jigger.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1214/2.
b. Mining. A hook or similar contrivance for attaching hutches or trams to a hauling rope, or for coupling them to each other.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > equipment for lowering or raising miners or material > for raising material > equipment for pulling, joining, or positioning
soam1789
baff-end1851
jigger1888
1888 Notes & Queries 7th ser. VI. 322/2 Jigger, an apparatus for attaching hutches to a haulage rope, which holds by twisting or biting the rope.
c. A loose chain used as a warehouse crane.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > crane > types of
quay crane1821
balance-crane1824
well crane1836
water crane1849
jenny1861
jib-crane1873
stacker1875
Titan1876
transfer-elevatora1884
whip-crane1883
Goliath1888
jigger1891
wharf crane1893
floating crane1903
tower crane1906
hammer-headed crane1908
portal crane1908
hammer-head crane1910
luffing crane1913
cherry-picker1945
stacker crane1959
monotower1963
Transtainer1964
portainer1966
1891 Labour Commission Gloss. Jigger boy, name given (at the Millwall Docks) to a boy working a jigger or loose chain.
1891 Labour Commission Gloss. at Work A jigger,..a loose chain worked not through the medium of a crane, but by hydraulic or steam power.
1900 Dundee Advertiser 21 Aug. 5 An increased charge for the use of the hydraulic jiggers.
d. A small roller, or set of rollers fitted in a suspended oscillating frame, used for graining leather.
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society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > bookbinding equipment > [noun] > tools
plough1580
fillet1641
roll1656
paper-folder1781
stamp1811
backing-hammer1818
bookstamp1819
lettering tool1833
book cutter1850
roller1852
hand letter1862
pallet1875
wagon1875
stop1880
jigger1883
gouge1885
guinea-edge1890
marbler1890
panel stamp1893
saddle stitcher1944
1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts 2nd Ser. 374/1 A grain or polish is given to the leather, either by boarding or working under small pendulum rollers, called ‘jiggers’, which are engraved either with grooves or with an imitation of grain.
e. A shoemaker's tool for polishing the edge of the sole of a boot.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making footwear > [noun] > equipment or materials for > equipment > for polishing
hollin stick1688
jigger1850
1850 J. Struthers Poet. Wks. I. Autobiog. 38 A tool highly esteemed among them called a jigger.
f. A machine for hardening and condensing a felted fabric by repeated quick blows from rods, by a rapidly vibrating platen or platens, or by an intermittent rolling action.
g. Billiards. A slang name for the supporting rest, used when the ball is too far off to be reached by the cue if rested on the hand.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > rest
jigger1847
rest1849
pyramid rest1873
spider-rest1873
spider1887
bridge1893
short-rest1910
1847 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) xli. 357 The long cue and the ‘jigger’.
Categories »
h. A cooper's drawing-knife with a hollowing blade. (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech.)
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i. A small street-railway car, drawn by one horse. U.S.
Categories »
j. A machine worked by electricity and indicating by means of a pointer dial the prices at which sales are made on 'change. U.S.
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k. Mint. ‘A small weight which it is necessary, in certain cases, to add to a given number of coins to make an exact pound in weight’. (W. J. Hosking, Royal Mint.)
l. Any small mechanical contrivance; a ‘thingummy’. U.S. colloquial.
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the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance > gadget
jigger1874
gadget1885
timenoguy1886
toy1895
widget1924
gimmick1926
boondoggle1935
gizmo1943
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 203 Jigger has many meanings, the word being applied to any small mechanical contrivance.
1926 Amer. Speech 1 628/2 The term jigger has long been used of small mechanical devices... In America, jigger is often used as an indefinite name, not too dignified, of the same order as thingumbob.
1944 H. Wentworth Amer. Dial. Dict. 328 Jigger, thingemajig.
m. Golf. A short iron-headed club used for approaching shots.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > equipment > [noun] > club > types of club
play club1685
putting club1690
gentlemen's club1709
putter1783
spoon1790
iron1793
sand-iron1796
whip-club1808
cleek1829
driving putter1833
bunker-iron1857
driver1857
niblick1857
putting iron1857
baffing-spoon1858
mid-spoon1858
short spoon1858
sand-club1873
three-wood1875
long iron1877
driving cleek1881
mashie1881
putting cleek1881
track-iron1883
driving iron1887
lofting-iron1887
baffy1888
brassy1888
bulger1889
lofter1889
lofter1892
jigger1893
driving mashie1894
mid-iron1897
mashie-niblick1907
wood1915
pinsplitter1916
chipper1921
blaster1937
sand-wedge1937
wedge1937
1893 H. G. Hutchinson Golfing 21 The learner will probably do better..to employ..—supposing that he finds he cannot play the short approaches with sufficiently dead loft off an ordinary iron—much-laid-back approaching cleek. On some links these are a great deal used, under the name of jiggers.
1929 Encycl. Brit. X. 504/1 Jigger, an iron club with narrow blade, in classification intermediate between a midiron and a mashie.
1931 Punch 1 July 717/2 Fully-equipped Visitor. This looks a weird sort of hole. What on earth does one take here? Local player. One takes a jigger, if that's all one has.
1970 H. Taylor Golf Dict. Jigger, an iron club, of value in all kinds of golfing situations.
n. Dyeing. A device for dyeing piece goods by passing them back and forth through a dye-bath over a set of rollers.
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the world > matter > colour > colouring > dyeing > [noun] > equipment used
litting-lead1485–6
vat1548
battery1737
deviling1737
winch1740
shaker1791
pastel-vat1838
wince1839
wincing-machine1839
tin-vat1865
jigger1893
jig1942
1893 E. Knecht et al. Man. Dyeing II. ix. 694 The modern jigger consists of a wooden or cast-iron dye vessel heated by steam and provided with water supply and waste-pipe. In the vessel are three rollers.. at the top and two..at the bottom, which guide the pieces in their passage through the dye-liquor.
1915 T. Beacall et al. Dyestuffs & Coal-tar Products iv. 82 The machine most frequently met with in the dyeing of cotton cloth is the jigger. In this machine the cloth in full width is passed through the dye liquor several times over guide rollers.
1963 W. Meitner & A. F. Kertess tr. H. U. Schmidlin Preparation & Dyeing Synthetic Fibres xi. 90 Although a discontinuous machine the automatic jigger is very suitable for de-sizing, boiling-off, bleaching and dyeing of heavy fabrics sensitive to creasing.
o. A bicycle or small motor vehicle or hand-car.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle
bicycle1868
steed1877
bike1880
jigger1897
push-cycle1905
push bicycle1906
pushbike1910
grid1922
mangle1941
recumbent1968
MTB1988
1897 H. G. Wells in Humours of Cycling 7 ‘Pretty Jigger!’ said the Bounder... ‘Nice-looking machine you've got.’
1906 A. Bennett Whom God hath Joined i. 12 ‘So you biked up after me?’ said Mark. ‘I had to. I borrowed this jigger from the office-boy.
1930 ‘E. Bramah’ Little Flutter iv. 52 My little jigger is no good for a job like this.
1958 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 9 Aug. 18/1 A jigger carrying eight men came belting around the mountains and ran smack into a moose.
1973 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 28 July 17/11 It takes a little time, too, to absorb the antique public school language... Jigger—a bicycle.
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society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > radio set > oscillators > transformer
jigger1902
oscillation transformer1905
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [adjective] > oscillator > transformer
jigger1924
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 230/2 The plugs of the sensitive tube..are joined to the terminals of the secondary circuit S′S′ of a small transformer, called a ‘jigger’.
1906 J. A. Fleming Princ. Electr. Wave Telegr. vii. 437 If the oscillation transformer, or jigger, is not wound to suit the wave length employed, so far from being a benefit, it prevents any signals being received at all.
1907 J. Erskine-Murray Handbk. Wireless Telegr. 43 These oscillating transformers, or jiggers, as they are frequently called, are of the same type as Tesla's high frequency transformer.
1913 Wireless World 1 10/1 Adjustable transmitting jigger.
1924 P. J. Risdon Wireless xii. 116 The oscillating current in the primary circuit induces, through the ‘jigger’ coils, as they were called, another current of the same frequency in the aerial circuit.
1937 in ‘Decibel’ Wireless Terms Explained 41
q. A light vehicle, esp. one that moves on rails. dialect and New Zealand (see Eng. Dial. Dict., sense 4).
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [noun] > small or light
accelerator1861
midget1897
jigger1904
1904 ‘G. B. Lancaster’ Sons o' Men 158 Two men sat on the little iron jigger that straddled the wooden tram-line.
1918 Chrons. N.Z.E.F. 8 Nov. 179/1 At last I commenced the second stage—this time on a ‘jigger’, a frame on two rubber-tyred wheels which holds the stretcher.
1949 E. de Mauny Huntsman in Career 162 Chancey..went off on the jigger down the narrow track into the bush each morning.
r. A ouija.
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the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > Ouija
Ouija1890
jigger1916
1916 O. Lodge Raymond 186 Jigger. (A kind of Ouija.)
s. A device for administering electric shocks (see quot. 1973).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric charge, electricity > [noun] > electric shock > device producing
fulminator1905
jigger1972
1972 Sunday Sun (Brisbane) 26 Nov. 1/2 Battery operated jiggers are being used on mentally retarded children..to bring them into line. The electric shock treatment is followed by..lollies if they behave.
1973 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 25 Feb. 14/1 Occasionally, a blue spark would flash forth as a recalcitrant beast was touched with the ‘jigger’ (a battery-operated device carried over the shoulder and imparting an electric shock through an insulated rod held in the hand).
III. Various slang uses. (Possibly not related to the foregoing.)
6.
a. A door.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > [noun] > door
doorOE
entry door1526
jigger1567
magazine door1646
main door1825
Rory1892
Rory O'More1894
1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) Peddelars Frenche sig. Giiii Dup the gygger, open the doore.
1659 Caterpillers anatomized Gigers jacked, locked doors.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 181 Jigger, a door.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 314/1 Such men are always left outside the jigger (door) of the houses.
b. A prison or cell.
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society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun]
quarternOE
prisona1200
jailc1275
lodgec1290
galleya1300
chartrea1325
ward1338
keepingc1384
prison-house1419
lying-house1423
javel1483
tollbooth1488
kidcotec1515
clinkc1530
warding-place1571
the hangman's budget1589
Newgate1592
gehenna1594
Lob's pound1597
caperdewsie1599
footman's inn1604
cappadochio1607
pena1640
marshalsea1652
log-house1662
bastille1663
naskin1673
state prison1684
tronk1693
stone-doublet1694
iron or stone doublet1698
college1699
nask1699
quod1699
shop1699
black hole1707
start1735
coop1785
blockhouse1796
stone jug1796
calaboose1797
factory1806
bull-pen1809
steel1811
jigger1812
jug1815
kitty1825
rock pile1830
bughouse1842
zindan1844
model1845
black house1846
tench1850
mill1851
stir1851
hoppet1855
booby hatch1859
caboose1865
cooler1872
skookum house1873
chokey1874
gib1877
nick1882
choker1884
logs1888
booby house1894
big house1905
hoosegow1911
can1912
detention camp1916
pokey1919
slammer1952
joint1953
slam1960
1812–13 P. Egan Boxiana I. 122 Where flash has been pattered in all that native purity of style, and richness of eloquence, which would have startled a High Toby Gloque, and put a Jigger Screw upon the alert.
1896 M. Pemberton Puritan's Wife xiii. 116 I would sooner have been in the gigger at Newgate.
c. A passage between or at the back of houses; a back entry or alley. Merseyside.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > lane > [noun] > between buildings
twitchenOE
chare12..
shut1300
alley1360
entryc1405
wyndc1425
vennel1435
trance1545
row1599
ginnel1669
ruelle1679
gangway1785
pend close1819
ope1825
jitty1836
scutchell1847
gully1849
bolt1855
opeway1881
snicket1898
jigger1902
jowler1961
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > lane > [noun] > at the back of houses
back entry1677
service alley1885
service lane1899
jigger1902
1902 in Eng. Dial. Dict.
1966 P. Moloney Plea for Mersey 21 ‘A seen a scuffer up a jigger wid a rozzer’ (‘I saw two policemen in the side entry’).
1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 62 We wen up der jigger fera kneetrembler, we went courting in lovers' lane.
1967 A. Henri in Penguin Mod. Poets X. 16 A Polish gunman..collapses down a back jigger.
7.
a. An illicit distillery.
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the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > distilling > [noun] > distillery > illicit
jigger1824
1824 Compl. Hist. Murder Mr. Weare App. 241 He said that Probert and two others were in the jigger at Gill's Hill.
1824 Compl. Hist. Murder Mr. Weare App. 251 I kept a private jigger there, and it was never discovered.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 387/1 They carry about their persons pint bladders of ‘stuff’, or ‘jigger stuff’ (spirit made at an illicit still).
b. A drink of spirits, a dram. Also, a small glass or metal cup, a measure used in mixing cocktails; the contents of such a glass or measure. (U.S.)
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the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > a drink of
dramc1590
sopie1687
short1823
something damp or shortc1831
hooker1833
jigger1836
snifter1844
short drink1883
snort1889
taggeen1899
shot1928
shorty1931
shooter1971
the world > food and drink > drink > preparation of drinks > [noun] > cup for mixing cocktails
jigger1870
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > small quantity of
nipper1844
nip1869
jigger1870
tickler1889
nippy sweetie1974
1836 W. O'Bryan Narr. Trav. U.S. 107 These canal labourers have a boy to supply them with Whiskey, called a Jiggar boss, who goes on the canal and carries a half gill (half noggin) of Whiskey to every man sixteen times a day!
1870 J. H. B. Nowland Early Reminisc. Indianapolis 361 By jiggers was meant a small cup of whiskey, say about a gill; they had cups made on purpose for this use.
1879 N.Y. Herald 21 Nov. 8/2 A jigger..is a conical metal cup in which to mix fancy drinks.
1882 Congr. Rec. 19 July 6195/2 I never saw an Irishman or a German who would not give up his dinner before he would his glass of beer, his jigger, or his pipe.
1889 Lisbon (Dakota Territory) Star 15 Feb. 3/1 After giving him two small ‘jiggers’, the civilities were brought to an end.
1892 A. E. Lee Hist. Columbus I. 335 The ‘jigger’ was a dram of less than a gill, taken [5 times a day].
1946 E. Holding Innocent Mrs. Duff 17 On a shelf there was a fine array of bottles, with jiggers of two sizes, swizzle sticks, glass mixers.
1946 ‘P. Quentin’ Puzzle for Fiends (1947) viii. 62 A jigger of liquor clutched between thumb and first finger.
1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer vii. 114 What I came out to ask you is, do you have any gin in the house and could you spare me a jigger?
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel ix. 148 A baker's dozen perversions for a jigger of vodka.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (see senses 5a, 5b).
jigger-boy n.
Π
1869 Good Words Mar. 172/2 A plaster-of-Paris cast is placed on a disc which a handle-turning ‘jigger-boy’ causes to revolve.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §043 Jigger, jigger boy, jiggerer..attaches or detaches tubs, singly or in pairs, to or from endless rope, by placing rope in fork of ‘jigger’, or double crook, in socket at one side or end of tubs.
C2.
jigger-block n. (See quot., and cf. sense 2a).
Π
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 107 If the strap be continued, so as to form a tail, at the end of the block which has no hook, the block is called a tail or jigger block; and if a tackle have its moveable block so furnished, it is called a ‘jigger tackle’.
jigger-board n. New Zealand = 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > lumbering equipment > board to stand on
springboard1883
jigger-board1944
jigger1961
1944 R. Gilberd in N.Z. New Writing 3 55 We would have given you..nerves to stand the narrow insecurity of the jigger-board.
1961 B. Crump Hang on a Minute Mate 42 During the next few weeks Jack learned about scarfing, backing, limbing, deeing, sniping, jigger-boards, platforms, toms, strops, drives, triggers, and saw and axe sharpening.
1963 N. Hilliard Piece of Land 176 The best thing of the day to watch, the three-tier jigger-board chop.
jigger-dubber n. slang a turnkey (cf. sense 6).
ΚΠ
1781 G. Parker View Society & Manners II. 69 Jigger-dubber is a term applied to Jailors or Turn~keys.
jigger-head n. (see sense 5a).
Π
1881 Harper's Mag. Feb. 362/2 The plaster mould fits into a metal top called the ‘jigger-head’.
jigger-knife n. = sense 5h.
Π
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Jigger-knife, a drawing-knife with a blade bent at one end and curved at the other, used by wheelwrights.
jigger machine n. the potter's lathe which carries the former or jigger.
Π
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 105 Jiggerer, sanitary, a jiggerer..who makes sanitary appliances on jigger machine.
jigger mast n. Nautical (a) a small mast at the stern, on which a jigger (sense 2b) is hoisted; (b) the aftermost mast of a four-masted merchant ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > mast > small mast at stern
jigger mast1831
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > mast > mizzen-mast > aftermost
bonaventure1704
jigger mast1831
jigger1880
1831 E. J. Trelawny Adventures Younger Son xxiv This dow had a large mast forward, and a gigger-mast aft.
1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage Explan. Terms 16 Jigger mast, a small mast at the stern, with a sail resembling a lug sail.
1879 W. Black Macleod of Dare xxxiv. 305 The red ensign clung to the jigger-mast.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 15 May 7/2 Owing to the frightful rolling of the ship the steel masts gave way, all coming down, with the exception of the lower foremast, the mizen lower mast, the jigger lower mast and topmast, and the bowsprit.
jigger-pump n. (a) a force-pump mounted on a portable stand and usually connected with a hose, used for watering flower-beds, etc.; (b) see quot.
Π
1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Jigger~pump, a pump used in breweries to force beer into vats.
jigger-saw n. = jigsaw n.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > saw > [noun] > jig-saw
jigsaw1873
jigger-saw1888
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 197 Jigger saw, or jig saw.
1957 N.Z. Timber Jrnl. Sept. 61/1 Jigger saw, a reciprocating saw. A fret or scroll or jig saw, used for pierced and tracery work.
jigger-tackle n. Nautical = sense 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > tackle or purchase > [noun] > consisting of single, double fall
jigger1726
jigger-tackle1769
handy billy1829
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Jigger tackle, a light..tackle, consisting of a double and single block.
1797 Gazetteer in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1799) I. 76 D —n me! if I would not get a jigger-tackle upon you.
jigger-yard n. Nautical a yard on which the jigger (sense 2b) is extended.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > yard > yards on mizzen-mast
mizzen yard1419
foreheada1642
jigger-yard1842
1842 J. F. Cooper Jack o' Lantern I. 182 Three fair, handsome flags rose to the end of the Fen-Follett's jigger-yard.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
jiggern.2
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ [Corruption of chigoe n.]
1. Also jigger flea = chigoe n. The Latin name of the insect is now Tunga penetrans.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Siphonaptera or fleas > [noun] > pulex or sarcopsylla penetrans (chigoe)
nigua1555
chigoe1708
pique1748
red-buga1750
jigger flea1756
trigera1757
sand flea1796
tungua1815
1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. iii. 418 The Chigoe, or Chiger..is very frequent and troublesome in all our sugar-colonies.
1781 H. Smeathman in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 71 170 I know nothing similar, except in the pulex penetrans of Linnæus, the jigger of the West Indies.
1810 R. Southey Hist. Brazil x. 436 The first settlers suffered terribly from the chiguas or jiggers.
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1856) IV. 53 I am speaking of the celebrated Chigoe or Jiggers, called also Nigua, Tungua, and Pique.
1830 J. Lindley Introd. Nat. Syst. Bot. 46 In the West Indies the juice of Mammea is employed to destroy the chiggers.
1868 F. Boyle Ride across Continent 68 ‘Neguas’..better known in England by their West Indian name, ‘jiggers’ or ‘chigos’.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 205 A touch of fever on him and jiggers in his feet.
1899 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 635/1 Several Sepoys were suffering from that African pest the ‘jigger’.
1947 H. Vaughan-Williams Visit to Lobengula xxvii. 176 Arthur's feet suffered badly from jigger fleas—horrid little tiny insects that burrow under the skin and lay a bunch of eggs there in a capsule.
1953 New Biol. 14 120 Tunga penetrans, the tropical jigger flea of man, is the best-known of these [burrowing fleas].
1962 R. M. Gordon & M. M. J. Lavoipierre Entomol. for Students of Med. xxxv. 217 Both the male and the female jigger flea are blood-suckers.
2. Applied in U.S. to various harvest-ticks, such as Leptus americanus and L. irritans, which fasten on the human skin and cause great irritation.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
jiggerv.1
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ colloquial.
1. intransitive. To make a succession of rapid jerks; said of a fish struggling to free itself from the hook.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > [verb (intransitive)] > make jerks on end of line
jigger1867
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling ix. 295 When a fish ‘jiggers’ or keeps up a constant ‘jag, jag, jag’, at the line, it is a very unpleasant..symptom.
1891 A. Lang Angling Sketches 118 He [a salmon] came slowly up, and ‘jiggered’ savagely at the line.
1895 Daily News 1 Aug. 6/4 When he jiggers, a fish puts all he knows into a series of short rapid tugs.
2. Originally passive, usually with up: to be tired out, exhausted; so, to be ‘done for’, devitalized. Also actively: to break, destroy, ruin. dialect and slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > be or become weary or exhausted [verb (passive)]
bewearya1610
to beat out1780
out-and-out1813
stall1816
jigger1862
to bugger up1891
wapper1898
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to
undoc950
shendOE
forfarea1000
endc1000
to do awayOE
aquenchc1175
slayc1175
slayc1175
stathea1200
tinea1300
to-spilla1300
batec1300
bleschea1325
honisha1325
leesea1325
wastec1325
stanch1338
corrumpa1340
destroy1340
to put awayc1350
dissolvec1374
supplanta1382
to-shend1382
aneantizec1384
avoidc1384
to put outa1398
beshenda1400
swelta1400
amortizec1405
distract1413
consumec1425
shelfc1425
abroge1427
downthringc1430
kill1435
poisonc1450
defeat1474
perish1509
to blow away1523
abrogatea1529
to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529
dash?1529
to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531
put in the pot1531
wipea1538
extermine1539
fatec1540
peppera1550
disappoint1563
to put (also set) beside the saddle1563
to cut the throat of1565
to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568
to make a hand of (also on, with)1569
demolish1570
to break the neck of1576
to make shipwreck of1577
spoil1578
to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579
cipher1589
ruinate1590
to cut off by the shins1592
shipwreck1599
exterminate1605
finish1611
damnify1612
ravel1614
braina1616
stagger1629
unrivet1630
consummate1634
pulverizea1640
baffle1649
devil1652
to blow up1660
feague1668
shatter1683
cook1708
to die away1748
to prove fatal (to)1759
to knock up1764
to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834
to put the kibosh on1834
to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835
kibosh1841
to chaw up1843
cooper1851
to jack up1870
scuttle1888
to bugger up1891
jigger1895
torpedo1895
on the fritz1900
to put paid to1901
rot1908
down and out1916
scuppera1918
to put the skids under1918
stonker1919
liquidate1924
to screw up1933
cruel1934
to dig the grave of1934
pox1935
blow1936
to hit for six1937
to piss up1937
to dust off1938
zap1976
1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds & Neighbourhood 332 Jigger'd up, Av tramp'd a matter o' fotty mile to-daay, an' am fair jigger'd up.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 412 Jiggered-up, done up; tired out.
1885 B. Brierley Ab-o'th-Yate in Yankeeland v. 42 A generation or two would see it jiggered up if it wurno' for th' fresh blood ut's bein sent into it.
1895 ‘G. Mortimer’ Like Stars that Fall xii. 167 Bates will jigger us if he can... I wouldn't trust that fellow.
1896 Yorks. Weekly Post 6 June 6/8 T'chap wor reight jiggered up.
1923 Daily Mail 13 June 12 I've ‘jiggered’ up my Rolls-Royce.
1949 E. de Mauny Huntsman in Career 150 He jiggered up his ankle last Saturday.
1969 Telegraph (Brisbane) 19 May 8/1 The firing pin's jiggered and the sights are sloppy.
Derivatives
ˈjiggering n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling ix. 295 I have lost many a ‘jiggering’ fish.
Draft additions 1997
3. transitive. To rearrange or adjust (statistics, procedures, etc.), esp. to produce the desired result; to manipulate, tamper with. Chiefly U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > making or fashioning anew > fashion anew [verb (transitive)]
reforge1542
unfashion1569
to make over1582
refashion1613
remodel1660
remake1766
recast1790
new-dress1795
rework1837
rejigger1899
rejig1948
jigger1961
1961 F. Leiber Big Time vii. 57 It's sweet to jigger reality, to twist the whole course of a man's life or a culture's, to ink out his or its past and scribble in a new one.
1976 Forbes 15 Nov. 129 Conventional price indexes..often jigger the market basket's content in an effort to minimize social changes that don't reflect changes in the quantity of money.
1980 N.Y. Times 18 Dec. b5/4 To the extent that we keep jiggering it to meet special needs, this whole thing can fall down around our ears.
1992 P. J. Plauger Standard C Libr. 199 Where it's possible, the linker can be jiggered to avoid the possibility.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
jiggerv.2
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ slang or colloquial.
Used as a vague substitute for a profane oath or imprecation, esp. in asseverations. (Only in passive.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > euphemisms for stronger oaths
jernie1678
jigger1837
gick1905
proverbial1925
rollocks1961
1837 F. Marryat Snarleyyow xxxvi, in Metropolitan Apr. 395 I am jiggered if he don't tell a lie.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. xvii. 280 ‘Well, then,’ said he, ‘I am jiggered if I don't see you home!’ This penalty of being jiggered was a favourite supposititious case of his. He attached no definite meaning to the word that I am aware of.
1886 F. H. Burnett Little Ld. Fauntleroy (1892) ii. 23 ‘Well’, said Mr. Hobbs, ‘I'll be—jiggered!’ This was an exclamation he always used when he was very much astonished or excited.
Derivatives
ˈjiggering adj. and intensive adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [adjective] > euphemisms for stronger oaths
adjective1851
something1859
adjectived1869
qualified1886
epitheted1896
adj.1903
jiggering1903
adjectival1907
jeezly1908
blerry1920
bluggy1921
somethinged1922
socking1941
bleeping1957
naffing1959
1903 Daily Chron. 14 Sept. 3/3 Once you've made up your mind, as you may say, about a young man, you've got to be jiggerin' well careful you don't go and lose him.
a1950 X. Herbert in W. Murdoch & H. Drake-Brockman Austral. Short Stories (1951) 301 Take the lot. Take the rintin' jiggerin' lot!
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
jiggerv.3
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ slang.
transitive. To shut up, imprison.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > confine [verb (transitive)]
beloukOE
loukOE
sparc1175
pena1200
bepen?c1225
pind?c1225
prison?c1225
spearc1300
stopc1315
restraina1325
aclosec1350
forbara1375
reclosea1382
ward1390
enclose1393
locka1400
reclusea1400
pinc1400
sparc1430
hamperc1440
umbecastc1440
murea1450
penda1450
mew?c1450
to shut inc1460
encharter1484
to shut up1490
bara1500
hedge1549
hema1552
impound1562
strain1566
chamber1568
to lock up1568
coop1570
incarcerate1575
cage1577
mew1581
kennel1582
coop1583
encagea1586
pound1589
imprisonc1595
encloister1596
button1598
immure1598
seclude1598
uplock1600
stow1602
confine1603
jail1604
hearse1608
bail1609
hasp1620
cub1621
secure1621
incarcera1653
fasten1658
to keep up1673
nun1753
mope1765
quarantine1804
peg1824
penfold1851
encoop1867
oubliette1884
jigger1887
corral1890
maroon1904
to bang up1950
to lock down1971
1887 H. Caine Deemster III. xxxiii. 50 Poor Mastha Dan had been..jiggered up in Peel Castle.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
jiggerv.4
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ Pottery.
transitive. To shape with a jigger.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > pottery-making or ceramics > make pottery [verb (transitive)] > other processes
whave1611
throw1698
slap1786
deliver1809
blungec1830
frit1832
saggar1839
sling1853
boss1860
porcelainize1863
kaolinize1874
soak1925
jigger1931
press-mould1971
1931 W. H. Warburton Hist. Trade Union Organization in Potteries xi. 208 I will try and get the price you want for this article, but you must remember that this..is being jiggered by a firm in the next town at a much less price.
1967 M. Chandler Ceramics in Mod. World ii. 63 Shaping methods..include..throwing, jollying or jiggering, plastic pressing, and extrusion.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
jiggerv.5
/ˈdʒɪɡə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪɡər/ Bookbinding.
transitive. To rub (a tool) backwards and forwards along a line or other impression in a leather binding, in order to polish it.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > bind [verb (transitive)] > treat leather
paste-wash1880
jigger1901
1880 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Art of Bookbinding xxii. 114 The lines impressed on the back must now have their gloss given to them. This is done by giggering the pallets over them.
1901 D. Cockerell Bookbinding xv. 224 I have found that a tool guided by a straight-edge, and ‘jiggered’ backwards and forwards, makes by far the best lines for blind-tool work.
1963 B. C. Middleton Hist. Eng. Craft Bookbinding Technique xii. 167 The tools are usually rocked or jiggered to produce a polish.
Derivatives
ˈjiggering n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > [noun] > polishing leather
jiggering1946
1946 E. Diehl Bookbinding II. xxiii. 352 It [sc. the fillet] is then pushed over the line a few times with a ‘jiggering’ motion, until the line is polished.
1951 L. Town Bookbinding by Hand x. 229 The tool can be put down again and rocked slightly. This gives a polished surface as well as a darkened one, and is known as ‘jiggering’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.11567
n.21756
v.11862v.21837v.31887v.41931v.51880- to fall short to
- to fall silent
- to fall sink into oblivion
- to fall through
- to fall to
- to fall to a person's etc
- to fall to a person's gun
- to fall to a person's rifle
- to fall to a person's sword
- to fall to age
- to fall to bits
- to fall to contempt
- to fall to dirt
- to fall to dust
- to fall to etc
- to fall to it
- to fall to mould
- to fall to one's books
- to fall to one's oars
- to fall to one's share
- to fall to oneself
- to fall to pieces
- to fall to powder
- to fall to purpose
- to fall to the ground