jerkwater

jerkwater
/jerrk"waw'teuhr, -wot'euhr/, adj.
1. Informal. insignificant and out-of-the-way: a jerkwater town.
2. (formerly) off the main line: a jerkwater train.
n.
3. (formerly) a train not running on the main line.
[1875-80, Amer.; JERK1 + WATER; so called from the jerking (i.e., drawing) of water to fill buckets for supplying a steam locomotive]

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jerkwater — (meaning contemptibly trivial or small and insignificant ) is the name of an indie rock trio. Formed in 1998, the Brooklyn, NY band includes guitarist Chris Bowers, bassist Steve Christensen and drummer John Connell (a.k.a Johnny Rock), with all… …   Wikipedia

  • jerkwater — adj. [from jerk + water, a place where it is necessary to draw (jerk) water to supply the boiler of a steam engine.] 1. small and remote and insignificant; as, a jerkwater college. Syn: one horse, pokey, poky. [WordNet 1.5] 2. (Railroads) Off the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • jerkwater — ☆ jerkwater [jʉrk′wôt΄ər ] n. [ JERK1 + WATER: prob. in reference to pulling the valve on the water tank to fill the engine boiler] a train on an early branch railroad adj. Informal small, unimportant, etc. [a jerkwater town] …   English World dictionary

  • jerkwater — adjective Etymology: from jerkwater rural train Date: 1888 1. remote and unimportant < jerkwater towns > 2. trivial …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • jerkwater — mod. backwoodsy; insignificant. (See also one horse town.) □ I’m from a little jerkwater town in the Midwest. □ He’s sort of the jerkwater type …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • jerkwater — 1. noun /ˈdʒɚk.wɑ.tɚ/ A train on a branch line. […] by bailing from near streams with buckets, (the brake man called this operation jerking water) and from this the road gets its name of jerkwater road. 2. adjective /ˈdʒɚk.wɑ.tɚ/ Of an inhabited… …   Wiktionary

  • jerkwater — jerk|wa|ter [ dʒɜrk,wɔtər ] adjective AMERICAN INFORMAL a jerkwater place is far from big cities and has nothing interesting or exciting happening in it …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • jerkwater — A combination of jerk and backwater. Used to describe someone or something that is stupid and jerky. I gotta get out of this jerkwater town. Used at: http://www.myentireass.com/forum/1021016933,78386,.shtml …   Dictionary of american slang

  • jerkwater — A combination of jerk and backwater. Used to describe someone or something that is stupid and jerky. I gotta get out of this jerkwater town. Used at: http://www.myentireass.com/forum/1021016933,78386,.shtml …   Dictionary of american slang

  • jerkwater — adj American remote, insignificant. This expression does not, as is often thought, have any implication of urination or masturba tion. It derives from the rural American practice of stopping trains in remote country areas to take on water, by… …   Contemporary slang

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”