Jamaican jerk is really nice.
The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
41–50 of 142 posts
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#42Here’s the sort of spooky thing. It’s not just that there are multiple generations who’ve never known a “jerk” was once a simpleton or sap. It’s that some of the folks who used to use it that way don’t remember that they did. When I asked my mom to define the word this week, she used the modern meaning, with no apparent recollection of her former firm conviction that a jerk was a dope, dodo, or dimwit. I am gen-X and…
I was an adult in my twenties when that movie came out and thought the title was odd as it didn’t seem to fit him. Maybe I had already transitioned from idiot to mild asshole.
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#43I wonder if it used to be that people largely weren’t on the same page, and didn’t know it. It’s not like people consult dictionaries to learn what slang means, or even usually ask somebody, and the definitions are related enough that responses usually don’t distinguish them. I’ve noticed it’s not uncommon online that a post’s likes are split between opposing interpretations, like agreeing with its politics vs seeing…
the British slang version of the word "cheers" is a very good example of this. I can tell you for absolute certain that the most people use the word "cheers" to mean "thanks", but if you go online and look up the definition, you will be told it also means goodbye, which it really doesn't, but I think this arises from the fact that it's a bit more relaxed form of thanks, so people frequently say it as thank you at the…
>but if you go online and look up the definition, you will be told it also means goodbye, which it really doesn't, but I think this arises from the fact that it's a bit more relaxed form of thanks, so people frequently say it as thank you at the end of an interaction where directly thanking the person might sound a bit awkward or overly formal.
Possibly also because of the phonetic similarity with "ciao"?
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#44It's a good time as any to remind everyone that The Jerk is still one of the funniest movies ever made. It could never be made today, and I suggest you pick up a copy if you've never seen it.
I watched it again recently because someone I knew had never seen it. It's actually not very funny anymore. I am still amused at a lot of the jokes in it, but more in an academic sense because I remember how funny it was. There's a lot of stuff in it that's really funny on paper but just doesn't make you actually laugh anymore. Comedy doesn't really age that well, and I believe that it's because what surprises us and what's considered "clever" inevitably changes over time.
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#45So the movie quote says the character was a pumpkin, but definitely not a jerk. Isn't that movie from the late 70s? So the shift took place by then. Or did the movie somehow redefine it?
The article that TFA quotes has a much more thorough description:
In 1979, kids may have been using it to mean "asshole" but the writers were in their 30s and definitely meant it to mean "idiot"
By the end of the '80s, the "idiot" usage seems to be completely gone.
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#46I wonder if it used to be that people largely weren’t on the same page, and didn’t know it. It’s not like people consult dictionaries to learn what slang means, or even usually ask somebody, and the definitions are related enough that responses usually don’t distinguish them. I’ve noticed it’s not uncommon online that a post’s likes are split between opposing interpretations, like agreeing with its politics vs seeing…
language can only approximate meaning. there's an element of probability whether two parties are on the same page or even in the same volume.
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#47I wonder if it used to be that people largely weren’t on the same page, and didn’t know it. It’s not like people consult dictionaries to learn what slang means, or even usually ask somebody, and the definitions are related enough that responses usually don’t distinguish them. I’ve noticed it’s not uncommon online that a post’s likes are split between opposing interpretations, like agreeing with its politics vs seeing…
The article specifically addresses this with the fascinating quote from Dave Berry where he reports that the definition of the word unknowingly changed in his head over the last few decades:
> “I always thought jerk meant asshole. At least I thought I always thought that, although the quotes you cite seem to suggest otherwise. So to answer your question: I have no idea. You may be right!”
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#48It's a good time as any to remind everyone that The Jerk is still one of the funniest movies ever made. It could never be made today, and I suggest you pick up a copy if you've never seen it.
Why not? I haven't seen it since the 70s, although that should be warning enough. I do remember "a rags-to riches-to rags story" tagline however.
>> It could never be made today.
> Why not?
M. Emmett Walsh, Carl Reiner, Maurice Evans and Jackie Mason are all dead, for one reason.
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#49When I hear jerk my first thought is always as the second derivative of velocity, because I had a TA in college who was specifically studying jerk as it relates to autonomous driving -- back in the 90s! So he taught us how to calculate it and its importance, because it turns out the car can handle a lot more jerk than the humans inside!
Apparently the trick for roller coasters is to keep the passengers hearts in the same plane so they don't perceive the ride as jerky.
Unless you are in Poland; then you need to keep the Poles in the right-hand plane or it will be unstable.
Re: The forgotten meaning of "jerk"
#50I believe this comes from soda jerks: the guys who jerk the soda taps and make you an egg cream or a chocolate coke. I should probably say "made," as it's a job that was eliminated by soda machines. A lot of restaurants even have customers "Jerk" their own soda, though now you just press a cup against a thingie.