jankers Services' slang.
(ˈdʒæŋkəz)
[Origin unknown.]
Punishment for defaulters; the defaulters themselves; the cells in which they are placed. Also attrib. (occas. in sing. form).
| 1916 J. N. Hall Kitchener's Mob 35 The ‘jankers’ or defaulters' squad was always rather large. 1919 Athenæum 25 July 664/2 The advent of the Royal Navy Division introduced to the Army the sailor's slang word ‘jankers’, the equivalent of the soldier's ‘clink’, punishment cells. Ibid. 8 Aug. 727/2 When doing C.B. or ‘time’ he [sc. the soldier] was doing ‘jankers’ or ‘Paddy Doyle’. a 1935 T. E. Lawrence Mint (1950) ii. xxii. 160 A week before my last jankers. 1936 F. Richards Old-Soldier Sahib ii. 54, I was now a defaulter, or ‘on jankers’ as the troops called it. 1946 Penguin New Writing XXVII. 72, I stepped into the hall of B.H.Q. over two janker-wallahs. Ibid. 73 He broke off to bawl out the jankermen. 1960 T. Rattigan Ross i. ii. 20 None of your lip, Parsons, now—unless you want a dose of jankers. 1965 J. Porter Dover Two ix. 122, I pulled her leg about it a bit, you know, said something about having her put on jankers if she was late again. 1971 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 25 July 6/2 Jankers can be painful. It usually means confined to barracks and menial tasks. Ibid., My first jankers was for causing a fire. |