as in rough
marked by a series of sharp quick motions filmed in a herky-jerky style that will give many moviegoers a headache

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Examples of herky-jerky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Hong Kong martial arts cinema legend Sammo Hung brought jiangshi to the screen with 1980’s Encounters of the Spooky Kind, a silly kung fu horror-comedy that features a hilarious set piece as Hung comically evades a hopping corpse’s herky-jerky attacks. James Grebey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024 There’s a lot of herky-jerky stopping and starting, but when Jenn gets behind the wheel, things are relatively smooth. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 23 July 2024 The herky-jerky, on-and-off annual decision-making stops us from spending money efficiently in the way that the taxpayer expects. Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2015 Experts agree mid-drive bikes typically deliver a less herky-jerky ride, because the motor assist is integrated into the pedal crank itself. IEEE Spectrum, 14 Apr. 2024 While there are some harder throwers in the system, the Rangers have been impressed by the 25-year old’s fastball-slider combination, a herky-jerky delivery and a fastball that appears to be on a jet stream moving up to the batter’s eyes. Evan Grant, Dallas News, 31 May 2023 Today just seemed a little herky-jerky, a little out of character, out of tempo and rhythm. Evan Grant, Dallas News, 22 Apr. 2023 Showtime’s Yellowjackets, which premieres its second season opposite the fourth and final season of Succession, is a series with herky-jerky mechanics. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Mar. 2023 In-betweeners don’t get the glory, but without them cartoons would be herky-jerky, lurching from angry pout to swaggering declaration with nothing smoothing the transition. Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'herky-jerky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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“Herky-jerky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herky-jerky. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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