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)

More example sentences

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.

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