▪ I. jerk, n.1
(dʒɜːk)
Also 6–7 ierke, girke, 7–9 jirk.
[Jerk n. and vb. are known from c 1550; app. echoic. See also yerk, which in some senses appears to be synonymous with this.]
† 1. a. A stroke with a whip or wand, a stripe, a lash. Obs.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. xi. 256 To the manne..foure score ierkes or lasshes with a skourge. 1594 Contention v. 154 After the Beadle hath hit him one girke, he leapes ouer the stoole and runnes away. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. xxix. 288 Sometimes in greater faults, to giue three or fowre ierkes with a birch, or with a small redde willow where birch cannot be had. 1629 Z. Boyd Last Battell 1216 Let me giue him a girke with my rodde. 1742 Richardson Pamela III. 334 Many a Jirk has the Dog had from me. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 221 The Indians..imagine that it [a coach-whip snake] is able to cut a man in two with a jerk of its tail. |
† b. fig. A lash of sarcasm; a cutting gibe.
| 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. i. A iv b, The dislike that some had of the ierke which I gaue to Fryer Sauanarol. 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. i, Who he is..under whose contempt and jirk these Men are not deservedly fallen? a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Gybe,..also Jerk or Jeer. 1741 tr. Laval's Hist. Ref. IV. viii. 912 He..omitted not to slide into his Speech some Jerks against the Doctrine..of the Jesuits. |
2. a. A quick suddenly arrested movement; a sharp sudden pull, throw, push, thrust, or twist.
| 1575 Gascoigne Weeds, Fruit of Fetters, Continence, The stiffe and strongest arme Which geues a ierke and hath a cunning loose; Shoots furdest stil. 1633 B. Jonson Love's Welcome, Welbeck, His Jade gave him a Jerk. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 21 Little whitish Animals, which move up and down the water with jerks. 1706 E. Baynard Cold Baths in Sir J. Floyer Hot & Cold Bath. ii. 302 To leave that and other Vices gradatim, and not at a jerk. 1776–96 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 344 Seeds on the upper surface only: discharged by jerks. 1807 Roland Fencing 96, I may, with this smart sudden jirk from my wrist, strike your blade in such a manner as will leave your body quite exposed. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Europe iii. (1894) 84 He..brought me with a jerk into a sitting position. |
b. (a) Physiol. An involuntary spasmodic contraction of a muscle, due to reflex action of nerves, as from external stimulus: usually with qualification, as knee-jerk, chin jerk. (b) (in pl. the jerks). Involuntary spasmodic movements of the limbs or features, esp. resulting from religious excitement.
| 1805 Dow Jrnl. in H. Mayo Pop. Superst. (1851) 125, I have seen all denominations of religion exercised by the jerks. 1822 Southey in Q. Rev. XXVIII. 6 The Jerks are not confined to a peculiar sect, or order. 1849 H. Mayo Pop. Superst. (1851) 124 The convulsions were commonly called ‘the jerks’. 1874 E. Eggleston Circuit Rider xii. (1895) 89 These Methodis' sets people crazy with the jerks, I've hearn tell. 1895 G. N. Stewart Man. Physiol. xii. 625 The interval which elapses between the tap and the jerk (3/100 to 4/100 second) is distinctly shorter than the reflex time of the extremely rapid lid-reflex. 1936 M. G. Eggleton Muscular Exercise viii. 181 The jerk is equally readily obtained if the skin has been de-sensitized by application of a local anæsthetic. 1968 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. I. xxiv. 14/1 The presence of a normal jerk shows that the receptors are sensitive..and the responding muscle is in order. |
c. fig. in reference to literary style.
| 1818 Hazlitt Eng. Poets i. (1870) 16 The jerks, the breaks, the inequalities and harshnesses of prose are fatal to the flow of a poetical imagination. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect I. 322 His wit was more like a jerk than the flow it had once been. |
d. Colloq. phr. physical jerks, physical or gymnastic exercises.
| 1919 [see sense 2 e below]. 1930 E. Raymond Jesting Army i. i. 7 It was the parade for ‘Physical Jerks’. Ibid. 14 Now the whole family party must go out into the garden to do physical jerks. 1966 A. Sachs Jail Diary ii. 24 In the afternoon, I am busy doing physical jerks. Ibid. 25 My physical jerks period. |
e. Colloq. phr. to put a jerk in it, to act vigorously, smartly, or quickly.
| 1919 Athenæum 25 July 664/2 ‘Physical jerks’ dates from war-time, as does also the admonition ‘put a jerk in it’, which is the equivalent of the ante-bellum ‘jump to it’. 1921 N. Kent Quest M. Harland ii. viii. 241 ‘I like to see young people enthusiastic. Put a jerk in it, can't you?’ ‘A—a what?’ stammered Anthea, tottering. ‘Put a jerk in it,’ repeated Roger. 1939 C. Day Lewis Child of Misfortune iii. ii. 271 Put a jerk in it. I'm meeting my boy at the second house at the Royal. 1974 ‘J. Ross’ Burning of Billy Toober xv. 147 If you put a jerk into it, you'll probably have something for me by lunchtime. |
f. The name of a dance characterized by jerking movements.
| 1966 N.Y. Times Mag. 9 Jan. 106/2 There is the Watusi, basically a side-to-side stumble, the Shake, and the Jerk—whose movements come as no surprise to old fans of burlesque. 1969 N. Cohn AWopBopaLooBop (1970) ix. 85 Dance-crazes bossed pop right up until the Beatles broke... The Jerk and the Block. 1972 T. Kochman Rappin' & Stylin' Out 161 Names for dances (Rock and Roll,..Jerk, and Black Power Stomp) all embody kinetic elements. |
3. fig. A short sharp witty speech; a sally.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 129 Smelling out the odoriferous flowers of fancy, the ierkes of inuention. 1606 Choice, Chance, etc. (1881) 49 At last, one merry fellowe comes out with his ierke. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) J. Garret's Ghost Ded., Wit and Mirth: Chargeably Collected..Made vp and fashioned into Clinches, Bulls, Quirkes, Yerkes, Quips and Ierkes. a 1652 Brome Novella iv. i. Wks. 1873 I. 155 Sir, use your jerks and quillets at the bar. 1889 A. H. Bullen Musa Proterva Pref., Some happy jerk of fancy or playful sally of wit. |
† 4. A short abrupt series of notes (of a bird). Obs.
| 1766 Pennant Zool. (1768) II. 333 They [the call-birds] invite the wild ones by what the bird-catchers call short jerks. 1773 Barrington in Phil. Trans. LXIII. 252 The short bursts of singing birds, contending with each other (called jerks by the bird-catchers), are equally distinguished from what I term song, by their not continuing for four seconds. 1794 P. Wakefield Mental Improv. (1801) I. 58 The invitation is given by what is called Jerks, in the language of the birdcatchers. |
5. slang (orig. U.S.). Someone of little or no account; a fool, a stupid person. Cf. jerkwater b.
| 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 63/2 Jerk, a boob; chump; a sucker. 1938 New Republic 7 Sept. 129/1 A jerk not only bores you but pats you on the shoulder as he does so. 1945 Daily Express 11 Sept. 2/4 See this lighter? A dying Jerry gave it to me. I gave the jerk a smoke from my last cigarette. 1950 [see brown-noser s.v. brown a. 7]. 1956 L. McIntosh Oxford Folly 85 Julian sounds a dismal little jerk when you sum him up like that. 1958 Listener 15 May 802/1 If..the sponsors get eight letters saying that their comedian is an idiot, or a foul-mouthed jerk, they're terrified. 1971 J. Ball First Team (1972) xxiv. 382 ‘I say you're a nigger!’..‘And I say that you're a goddamned jerk.’ |
6. Physics. Rate of change of acceleration (with respect to time).
| 1955 J. S. Beggs Mechanism iv. 122 Since the forces to produce accelerations must arise from strains in the materials of the system, the rate of change of acceleration, or jerk, is important. 1964 A. G. Fadell Calculus vii. 195 In the automobile industry the concept of a jerk is used as a ‘comfort index’. Ibid., Free fall has an ideal comfort index, namely zero of jerk. 1973 Nature Physical Sci. 19 Feb. 140/1 Large values of jerk (third derivative of the position of m) can occur if M is sufficiently large. |
Senses 2 e and f in Dict. become 2 f and g. Add: [2.] e. Weight-lifting. A lift in which a bar-bell held at shoulder level is raised above the head in a sudden movement by straightening the arms and legs; usu. as the second part of a clean and jerk (see *clean n. 2). Cf. snatch n. 3 e.
| 1913 Health & Strength 6 Dec. 632/2 L.h. clean and jerk. 1928 Health & Strength Ann. 77 Two Hands Clean and Jerk with Barbell. 1956 Muscle Power Mar. 28/1 He just failed with an attempt for a new world Jerk record of 292 [lbs]. 1974 Rules of Game ii. 43/1 In a competition, weights must be lifted using one of two methods: the snatch and the jerk (or clean and jerk). 1986 Weight Lifting (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) (ed. 2) 13 The feet should then be stepped in to hip-width prior to the jerk. |
▪ II. jerk, n.2
Also 8–9 jirk.
[f. jerk v.2: see also jerky.]
Jerked meat, charqui.
| 1799 J. Smith Acc. Remark. Occurr. (1870) 116 We jirked the lean, and fryed the tallow out of the fat meat, which we kept to stew with our jirk as we needed it. 1851 W. De Hass Hist. Early Settlements vii. iii. 389 As soon as daylight appeared, the captain started to where they left some jerk hanging on the evening before. |
▸ adj. Cookery (orig. and chiefly Jamaican). Designating meat (esp. pork or chicken) which has been marinated in a spicy mixture of seasonings (typically prominently featuring allspice) before being smoke-cured or barbecued. Also: designating a seasoning or sauce used in this method of preparation.
| 1930 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 10 May 9/6 You could also buy on the race course from the jerk pork men a quattie jerk pork with bread and mustard. 1986 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 20 July Chicken, fish (whole whitings) pork and ribs are smothered in ‘jerk’ seasonings. 1993 L. Colwin More Home Cooking xxv. 123 He lives in New York City, where hummus, sushi, bagels and jerk chicken are all considered standard fare. |
▸ Cookery (orig. and chiefly Jamaican). The marinade or seasonings (typically prominently featuring allspice) traditionally associated with jerk pork, chicken, etc.; meat prepared with these seasonings and smoke-cured or barbecued.
| 1986 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 29 June 101 The traditional dry marinade for pit-broiled meats—jerk—has been around Jamaica for more than 100 years. 1993 Observer 14 Mar. 13/4 Traditional island foods, including ‘jerk’. 2001 B. Geddes World Food: Caribbean 136 Your first bite of jerk may lead you to believe that hot pepper is used by the bowlful. However, the most essential ingredient is allspice. |
▪ III. jerk, v.1
(dʒɜːk)
Also 6 gierk, 6–7 girk(e, ierck(e, ierke, 7–8 jirk.
[See jerk n.1]
† 1. a. trans. To strike with or as with a whip, switch, or wand; to scourge, whip, lash, switch.
| 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle vi. (1588) 48 Than he beateth and gierketh vs a little with a rod. 1563 Foxe A. & M. (1583) I. 72/1 Whip him with scourges, iercke him with rods. 1593 G. Harvey New Letter C ij b, I may..chearne him like a dish of butter or girke him like a hobling gig. 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass 89 They..are worthy to bee iirkt with..lashes. 1611 Cotgr., Fouetter, to scourge,..yerke or ierke. 1673 F. Kirkman Unlucky Citizen 281 He now being naked, [they] Slapt and Jerkt him with all their strength. 1709 Brit. Apollo II. No. 52. 3/2 An Ox cheek Old Woman..he firk'd, And..a Fruiterer Jirk'd. |
† b. fig. To lash with satire or ridicule. Obs.
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. i. ii. 260 Acute Iohn Davis, I affect thy rymes, That ierck in hidden charmes these looser times. 1613–16 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. i, My busied pen Shall ierke to death this infamy of men. 1710 E. Ward Brit. Hud. x. 114 A Third Man..with much Pleasure Jirks the Church, As if his Words were Rods of Birch. |
2. a. To move (anything) by a sharp suddenly arrested motion, like that with which a whip is wielded; to thrust, pull, or shake by such a motion; to give a sudden thrust, push, pull, or twist to. Often with an adv. of direction or its equivalent.
| 1589 Nashe Almond for Parrat 5 b, Would you not laugh to see Cli. the Cobler, and New. the souter, ierking out theyr elbowes in euerie Pulpit? a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal viii, Though some grave friend..jerk his whip for notice [virgā prior annuit]. 1780 Puritan in Steevens Suppl. Shaks. II. 580 Let him play a little; we'll jerk him up of a sudden. 1849 H. Mayo Pop. Superst. (1851) 81 To..jerk and swing the limbs. 1863 A. J. Horwood Yearbks. 30 & 31 Edw. I Pref. 37 The rope broke not by reason of the holders moving or jerking it, but by reason of its weakness. 1865 Lowell Ode Harvard Commem. iv, We poor puppets, jerked by unseen wires. 1875 W. S. Hayward Love agst. World 18 He jerked the horse's mouth roughly. |
b. To throw or toss with a quick sharp motion, esp. with a sudden twitching or snatching action.
| 1786 F. Burney Diary 4 Nov., I had the greatest difficulty to save myself from being suddenly jerked into the middle of the room. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles vi. 59 [He] jerked a bow, and in a few moments was free. 1858 Longfellow M. Standish iv. 138 Then from the rattlesnake's skin, with a contemptuous gesture, Jerking the Indian arrows, he filled it with powder and bullets. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xxi. ii. (1872) IX. 276 Excellent sound masonries; which have an over-tendency to jerk themselves into pinnacles. 1883 A. W. Momerie Personality Introd. (1886) 15 The primeval chaos of ὁµοιοµερῆ was, so to speak, jerked into a number of distinguishable objects, by a movement. |
3. fig. To utter or throw out (words or sounds) abruptly, or sharply and shortly.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. i. iii. Wks. 1856 I. 83 How your cornet jerketh up His straind shrill accents. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 407 He speaks as if the one word, jerked out, as it were, wrung forth from his inmost soul, was Violence. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect I. 145 His sentences seemed jerked out. 1889 P. H. Emerson Eng. Idyls 46 ‘'Bout-four-an'-a-half-mile’, jerked out Ben, between strong pulls at his pipe. |
4. a. intr. To give a jerk; to jerk a bow or nod; to move with a jerk.
| 1606 Sir G. Goosecappe ii. i. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 32 Your dauncers legges bow for-sooth, and Caper, and jerke and Firke, and dandle the bodie aboue them. 1693 G. Stepney in Dryden's Juvenal viii. (1697) 204 Nor blush, shou'd he some Grave Acquaintance meet, But, (proud of being known) will Jerk and Greet. 1782 E. N. Blower G. Bateman III. 7 He..making but one step..to the street door, jerked out of the house. 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. vii. 136 The door jerked open. 1889 Barrie Window in Thrums xx. 191 Jess's head jerked back involuntarily. |
b. intr. To move the limbs or features in an involuntary spasmodic manner. Cf. jerker1 1 b.
| 1874 E. Eggleston Circuit Rider xiv. (1895) 104 He..was seized with that curious nervous affection which originated in these religious excitements... He jerked violently—his jerking only adding to his excitement, which in turn increased the severity of his contortions. |
† 5. intr. To aim satire; to sneer, carp, gird. Obs.
| a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary iv. v, You must be jerking at the times, forsooth. 1649 Milton Eikon. viii. Wks. (1851) 395 By the way he jerkes at some mens reforming to models of Religion. a 1704 T. Brown Pindar. Petit. Lds. Council Wks. 1730 I. 62 Prologues so witty, That jirk at the city. |
† 6. intr. Of a bird: To utter a short sharp abrupt series of notes. Obs.
| 1766 Pennant Zool. (1768) II. 334 The bird catchers frequently lay considerable wagers whose call-bird can jerk the longest. 1773 Barrington in Phil. Trans. LXIII. 263 A very experienced catcher of nightingales hath informed me, that some of these birds have jerked the instant they were caught. |
7. trans. To serve (soda, beer, etc.) at a soda-fountain, bar, etc. Cf. soda-jerker. U.S. colloq.
| 1883 G. W. Peck Peck's Bad Boy xiii. 126 Well, I must go down to the sweetened wind factory, and jerk soda! 1884 J. Miller Memorie & Rime 20 They stared at me, but went on jerking beer behind the counter. 1935 Amer. Mercury May 102/1 They had spent their tender years jerking sodas. 1949 Wodehouse Uncle Dynamite iv. 54, I also jerked soda. |
8. to jerk off (trans. and intr.), to masturbate. slang.
| 1937 in Partridge Dict. Slang. 1947 A. Bernstein Home is the Hunted 152 Big enough for a bush and jerking off like crazy, disconcerted and embarrassed by the riches of manhood flooding through your bones, veins, and gizzard. 1969 P. Roth Portnoy's Complaint 177 She will jerk off one guy, but only with his pants on. 1971 B. Malamud Tenants 202 The mother..dies unattended, of malnutrition, as Herbert jerks off in the hall toilet. |
Hence jerked (dʒɜːkt) ppl. a.
| 1867 A. J. Ellis E.E. Pron. i. 5 Jerked utterance. Ibid., Jerked whisper. |
Add: [2.] c. Weight-lifting. To lift (a weight attached to a bar-bell) from shoulder level to above the head by straightening the arms and legs in a sudden movement. Freq. in phr. to clean and jerk (see *clean v. 7). Cf. *jerk n.1 2 e.
| 1936 Health & Strength 26 Sept. 455/3, I can jerk 180 lb to arms' length from the shoulders but cannot ‘clean’ more than 154 lb. 1956 Strength & Health Nov. 18/2 A lifter should, by these means, be able to Jerk 5–10 kilos more than he can Clean. 1960 Muscle Power Feb.–Mar. 32/3 Chao Ching-Kuei succeeded in Jerking 392 pounds. 1986 Weight Lifting (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) (ed. 2) 17/2 To develop the skill and timing in jerking weights overhead and to develop power in this movement. |
▪ IV. jerk, v.2
(dʒɜːk)
Also 8 jirk.
[Corrupted from American Sp. charque-ar in same sense, f. charque, charqui, ad. Quichua (Peruvian) ccharqui ‘dried flesh, unsalted, in long strips’. The verb in Quichua was ccharquini ‘to prepare dried meat, to jerk’, whence perh. the early cognate jerkin n.3 The word is now used in all parts of Spanish America, and was app. found by English navigators in Spanish use in the W. Indies. (See Skeat, Trans. Philol. Soc. 1885, 94.)]
trans. To cure (meat, esp. beef) by cutting it into long thin slices and drying it in the sun.
| 1707 Sloane Jamaica I. p. xvi, They [the wild hogs] are shot,..cut open, the bones taken out, and the flesh gash'd on the inside into the skin, filled with salt, and exposed to the sun, which is called Jirking. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. ii. 305 He..was sent here with twenty-two Indians to jerk beef. 1760–72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) II. 329 Killing cattle; more for the sake of their hides, and tallow, than their flesh; of which, nevertheless, they jerk great quantities for the use of such ships as sail from Pernambuco. 1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 19 At 12 we stopped to jirk our meat, and again proceeded at two. 1859 R. F. Burton Centr. Afr. in Jrnl. Geog. Soc. XXIX. 202 When a bullock is killed they either jerk the meat, or dry it upon a dwarf platform of sticks raised above a slow and smoky fire. 1863 Lit. Times 4 July (Tracks across Australia), Two of the horses were slaughtered for food—one jerked, the other boiled down. |
Hence jerked (dʒɜːkt) ppl. a., ˈjerking vbl. n.
| 1712 W. Rogers Voy. round World 199 They export..Rice, Cotton, and some dry'd Jerkt Beef. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 116. 1812 J. J. Henry Camp. agst. Quebec 47 Preserve our provisions by jerking. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunters xxvii. 201 Yonder goes the jerking-line! 1865 Leeds Merc. 22 Feb., Experiments are being made in Aldershott camp with the South American ‘jerked beef’ with a view to its introduction in the army. |
▪ V. jerk, v.3
see jerque v.