Word of the Day

: July 30, 2009

jackleg

adjective JACK-leg

What It Means

1 a : characterized by unscrupulousness, dishonesty, or lack of professional standards

b : lacking skill or training : amateur

2 : designed as a temporary expedient : makeshift

jackleg in Context

"Ted Dawson was a pretty good jackleg carpenter." (Stephen King, It)

Did You Know?

Don't call someone "jackleg" unless you're prepared for that person to get angry with you. Throughout its more than 150-year-old history in English, "jackleg" has most often been used as a term of contempt and deprecation, particularly in reference to lawyers and preachers. Its form echoes that of the similar "blackleg," an older term for a cheating gambler or a worker opposed to union policies. Etymologists know that "blackleg" appeared over a hundred years before "jackleg," but they don't have any verifiable theories about the origin of either term.