jerkwater
/ˈdʒəːkwɔːtə
/adjective [attributive] North American informal
Of or associated with small, remote, and insignificant rural settlements: some jerkwater town...
- I'm getting the hell out of this jerkwater town!
- In Britain, we don't have such gems of railway vocabulary as jerkwater.
- The hamburger is about as all-American as a food could possibly be… especially one named after some jerkwater town in Germany.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from jerk1 + water, from the need for early railway engines to be supplied with water in remote areas, by dipping a bucket into a stream and ‘jerking’ it out by rope.