What Does That Mean? JKL

What Does That Mean?

JKL

Jay-walking
Meaning: Illegally crossing a street away from an intersection, though the act of doing it responsibly has been de-criminalized in some places, like California.
Origin: In the early 1900s, the slang word ‘jay’ was used for someone who was pretty much clueless. In this sense, the person could not figure out where to cross a road shortly after traffic lights became popular.

Jesus H. Christ
Meaning: This phrase is used to emphasize surprise.
Origin: An ancient monogram used for secretly naming Jesus resembled the initials JHC, though the letters were the first three in the Greek spelling of his name. In English, it appeared that H was a middle initial. It is not known how the phrase came to mean often-humorous exasperation.
Note: Christ was not Jesus’s surname but a word meaning “anointed one”.

John/Jane Doe
Meaning: Generic names used for people whose identities are not known.
Origin: The use of these names dates to at least the 1700s, when made-up plaintiffs and defendants took sides in legal cases. (Apparently, this was a way to avoid the legitimate way of bringing people to trial, which was rather complicated.) There is no official record of the first case involving these names and the source of them is unknown.
Note: When this first started, Richard Roe was used as the name for an anonymous defendant. This explains the plaintiff’s name being hidden in the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

Jump the gun
Meaning: Begin too early.
Origin: Initially ‘beat the gun’, this phrase comes from early-1900s track and field races, in which a pistol would signal the competitors to start running. As participants seemed to leap out of position, anyone who left before the gun was said to ‘jump’ it.

Jumping the shark
Meaning: Attempting to re-gain something’s popularity via an excessive, attention-seeking means.
Origin: In 1977, the television program Happy Days was losing popularity, so its most beloved character, The Fonz, accepted a challenge to jump over a pool containing a tiger shark while wearing water skis. (Fonz wore them; not the shark.) This phrase was coined in 1987 by a college student in Michigan who saw that event as the show’s downfall, though it lasted for six more seasons. His roommate publicized the saying by founding the now-defunct website JumpTheShark.com.

Just deserts
Meaning: Reward or punishment rightly fitting what a person has done.
Origin: The phrase above was not spelled incorrectly, though the word is pronounced like the after-dinner treats. In this case, ‘desert’ comes from a 13^th-century word meaning ‘something deserved’ and its current meaning was probably first used in 1548. Desserts such as cake and fudge were not popular until the 1600s.

Keep in touch
Meaning: Remain in communicative contact.
Origin: In the 1700s, soldiers had to march in close proximity and be able to physically touch those around them.

Keep me posted
Meaning: Let me know about that issue’s latest developments.
Origin: The root of this phrase is unclear but a popular hypothesis suggests it dates to American colonial times, when current events would be nailed to wooden posts so people could read about them. It may (alternately or additionally) relate to letters being mailed through the ‘post’ office.

Kick the bucket
Meaning: Die.
Origin: The most reasonable (and gruesome) idea of this phrase’s roots points to animal slaughter. In the 1500s, ‘bucket’ also meant a wooden beam or frame used to hang helpless creatures, who would obviously flail around and ‘kick the bucket’ before and/or after being killed.

Kill two birds with one stone
Meaning: Accomplish two things with one action.
Origin: Disputed, but possibly from hunting in the times before guns.

Knock your socks off
Meaning: You will be greatly impressed by something.
Origin: This phrase first had a negative connotation, meaning to soundly beat someone in a fight. The timing of it is disputed but it is thought to have been used in more positive ways through time while keeping its initial sense of stunning someone.

Know it like the back of your hand
Meaning: Have a great deal of knowledge about something.
Origin: Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the phrase in an 1893 novel called Catriona for the same effect as its current use.

Knucklehead
Meaning: Unintelligent person or a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine.
Origin: First used as a term for a mechanical coupling device, meaning a piece that connects two straight parts, thus creating a ‘knuckle’. Its modern use stems from R.F. Knucklehead, a goofy character created by the U.S. military to show new recruits how not to behave.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
Meaning: An organization founded in 1865 primarily to oppose Reconstruction after the U.S. Civil War, specifically policies that promoted equality for African-American people. They are responsible for countless acts of violence against blacks and their allies in the name of white supremacy.
Origin (of their name, not the group itself): Initially spelled Kuklux Klan, the first part of the name is likely gibberish based on the Greek word ‘kyklos’, meaning ‘circle’. The creator of this is unknown. The ‘C’ in ‘clan’ was changed to a ‘K’ for alliterative purposes.

Ladybugs
Meaning: A grossly under-rated film starring Rodney Dangerfield. Also, small beetles often (but not always) with small black dots on their red or orange wing-protectors for warning predators not to eat it.
Origin: Called “ladybirds” in the United Kingdom, the insects were first referred to as “lady beetles”, with the Biblical Mary being the ‘lady’ in question. She is said to often have worn a red cloak and was prayed to by farmers whose crops were being eaten by pests, who claimed Mary sent ladybugs to kill the invaders.
Note: Because nit-picking is fun, ladybugs are not technically bugs but insects in the beetle family.

Leave no stone un-turned
Meaning: Look absolutely everywhere.
Origin: An ancient Greek legend tells the story of a Persian general who buried treasure beneath rocks before he was killed in battle. When the Greeks asked the Oracle of Delphi how to find it, they were told to look under every stone.

Lemon (automobile)
Meaning: A vehicle sold as properly functional that is actually defective and dangerous to drive.
Origin: Using the word slangily to describe something unpleasant dates to the early-1900s. It was notably utilized in the automobile world in 1923 but really took off in the 1960s when Volkswagen ran an advertisement featuring the term. The popular thought for its source is simply because some people find lemons (the fruit) disagreeable.

Let the cat out of the bag
Meaning: Talk about something that should have been kept secret.
Origin: This phrase has two possible yet unproven roots: 1) A multi-pointed whip called a cat o’ nine tails was used on disobedient sailors and was kept in a bag to prevent drying and losing flexibility, or 2) At livestock markets, vendors would often sell small pigs to customers but secretly switch them with common cats, which the new owners would not discover until getting home and letting them out.

Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it
Meaning: There’s no need to worry about something that has yet to happen.
Origin: American writer Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used the expression in his 1851 book The Golden Legend, but he referred to it as an old proverb. The root of the phrase itself is unknown.

Life of Riley
Meaning: An easy existence with few concerns.
Origin: Ireland, though the source is disputed. In 1883, Pat Rooney had a song called Is That Mr. Reilly?, in which he described a man getting everything he wanted. However, the spelling change suggests the root is with Irish immigrants to America, many of which were named Riley. Presumably, one of them found comfort simple to attain.

Like taking candy from a baby
Meaning: Something unfair that is very easy to do.
Origin: The exact article where this phrase was first printed is disputed but it was used in the late-1800s to describe an American sporting event in which one team easily dominated the other.

Little white lie
Meaning: An un-truth told with polite intentions, such as telling a friend you like their new shirt because they are excited about it, even though you think it’s awful.
Origin: The phrase ‘white lie’ can be traced back to 1300s England, in a letter claiming somebody was not guilty of crimes except for white lies. The use of ‘white’ has to do with the ages-old battle of Good versus Evil, in which the Good side is usually represented by light colors, like in the Chinese Yin Yang. It is unclear when ‘little’ was added to ‘white lie’, but it was likely done to emphasize the triviality of the fib.

Lock, stock, and barrel
Meaning: Every aspect of something.
Origin: The main parts of a musket-gun. The phrase was used in an 1803 newspaper but may have originated earlier.

Loose lips sink ships
Meaning: Beware what you say because someone with bad intentions may overhear.
Origin: A World War 2 propaganda poster. The U.S. war department warned people that if “the enemy” heard secrets, it could cost American lives.
Note: The original phrase was, ‘Loose lips might sink ships’.

Lose one’s shirt
Meaning: Forfeit some or all of one’s money due to a bad wager or investment.
Origin: This phrase is thought to have roots in the Great Depression, when many people lost a great deal of money in the stock market. Some are said to have also lost personal possessions, including the clothing they were wearing.

Low-key
Meaning: Modest, calm, easy-going.
Origin: The term’s root is not known for sure, but it was probably introduced in the 1800s in reference to quiet, mellow music, which tends to be written in a low key, meaning the piece’s set of pitches or tonality.