▪ I. jemmy, n.
(ˈdʒɛmɪ)
Also 9 jimmy.
[A pet-form and familiar equivalent of the name James. But in sense 1 associated with, and in 2 and 3 prob. derived from, jemmy a.]
† 1. A dandy or fop; a finical fellow. Obs.
| 1753 Scots Mag. Oct. 490 The scale..consists of eight degrees; Greenhorn, Jemmy, Jessamy, Smart [etc.]. 1764 Low Life 65 The Jemmies, Brights, Flashes, Puzzes, Pizzes and Smarts of the Town. |
b. In phr. Jemmy Jessamy (jemmy Jessamine) attrib., dandified, foppish, effeminate. See jessamy 4.
| 1786 Pogonologia 51 You pretty fellows of the present day, Jemmy Jessamy persons, jolly bucks. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) vi. i, A Jemmy Jessamy lover in a wood. 1823 E. Nares Heraldic Anom. (1824) II. 356 Who is this Jemmy Jessamine Gentleman?—I am Charmoleus the Dandy, universally admired for my shape and figure and complexion. |
† 2. A kind of riding-boot; also jemmy boot.
| 1753 Foote Eng. in Paris i. Wks. 1799 l. 39 When I hunt with the King..I'll on with my Jemmys; none of your black bags and jack boots for me. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 10 June Let. i, Who..made his appearance in a pair of new jemmy boots. |
† 3. A light cane, a switch. Obs. rare—1.
| 1753 Scots Mag. Oct 490/2, I..carried in my hand a little switch, which, as it has been long appendant to the character that I had just assumed, has taken the same name, and is called a Jemmy. |
4. pl. ‘A species of woollen cloth. Aberd.’ (Jam. 1808–18).
5. A great-coat.
| 1837 Dickens Pickw. ii, But if I'd been your friend in the green jemmy—damn me—punch his head,—'cod I would. |
6. A crowbar used by burglars, generally made in sections screwing together.
| 1811 Lex. Bal., Jemmy, a crow..much used by house⁓breakers. Sometimes called Jemmy Rock. 1828 P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 223 As expert a burglar as ever handled a jemmy. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles vii. 59 Fame, won by highway pistol, or burglar's jemmy. 1889 D. C. Murray Danger. Catspaw 26 A complete set of jemmies, of all sizes. |
7. A sheep's head as a dish.
| 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz, 7 Dials, The man in the shop, perhaps, is in the baked ‘jemmy’ line. 1851–61 Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 48 (Farmer) They..had a ‘prime hot jemmy’ apiece. 1884 Henley & Stevenson Deacon Brodie iv. i, You're all jaw like a sheep's jimmy. |
▪ II. jemmy, a. Obs. exc. dial.
(ˈdʒɛmɪ)
Also 9 gemmy, gimmy, jimmy.
[deriv. of jim, gim a.]
Spruce, neat, smart; neatly-made; dexterous.
| 1750 Coventry Pompey Litt. ii. iv. (1785) 58/1 His great ambition was to be deemed a ‘jemmy fellow’. 1756 Connoisseur No. 112 ¶7 The jemmy frock with plate buttons. 1771 P. Parsons Newmarket II. 89 His jemmy turn'd-down boots. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Gim, gimmy, spruce, neat, smart. 1828 Lamb in Life & Lett. (1876) II. 341 A smart cock'd beaver and a jemmy cane! |
b. Comb., as jemmy-stitched, jemmy-worked.
| 1762 T. Jefferson Corr. Wks. 1859 I. 181 They carried away my jemmy-worked silk garters. 1817 Mrs. Ross Balance of Comfort (ed. 3) I. xxiii. 246 Only a piece of muslin rag, neatly jemmy-stitched. |
Hence ˈjemmily adv.; ˈjemminess.
| 1756 F. Greville Maxims, etc. 125 Its fort shall be either convenience or jemminess. 1818 Todd, Jemminess, spruceness. A colloquial expression; not much used in serious writing. 1837 New Monthly Mag. LI. 194 A stick to be carried jemmily under the arm, in Portsmouth fashion. |
▪ III. jemmy, v. colloq.
(ˈdʒɛmɪ)
Also 9– jimmy (see jimmy n.1).
[f. jemmy n. 6.]
trans. To force open (a lock, window, etc.) with a jemmy or similar implement. Also fig.
| 1893 J. Hawthorne Confessions of Convict iii. 49 We took the safe..and carried it..to the basement... We jimmied it open in no time. Ibid. xi. 172, I have drilled holes in large safes so accurately that the bolts could be ‘jimmied’ without leaving a mark. 1905 N.Y. Even. Post 22 Dec. 3 The thieves jimmied the front door. 1922 R. Parrish Case & Girl xxxii. 247 Finally we jimmied open the back door of this garage. 1933 J. V. Turner Homicide Haven xvii. 206 Ripple had demonstrated that even with a garden pick a window can be easily jemmied. 1973 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 8 Apr. 5/2 Not a footprint, not a gate left open or a lock jemmied. 1973 Sat. Rev. Society (U.S.) May 42/2 Any attempt to jimmy the doors, hood, or trunk will cause the horn to begin sounding. 1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 29 June 741/3 Her stable of talented students..would have had a harder row to hoe if Mary Quant had not jemmied open the door for young designers. 1980 Amat. Gardening 4 Oct. 31/1 A garden spade is just about the best tool there is for jemmying a door or window. 1991 D. Coupland Generation X ii. xv. 86 Give parents the tiniest of confidences and they'll use them as crowbars to jimmy you open and rearrange your life. |