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prettygoodwordjacklight (JAK-lait) - n., a portable light used as a lure while fishing or hunting at night. v., to fish or hunt with a jacklight.
Dates from around 1790s, when the light would have been a lantern. Exactly which sense of jack went into this is obscure to me, as it's a broad-spectrum word, but ultimately all of them stem from the informal (and sometimes derogatory) diminutive of John.
---L.
Dates from around 1790s, when the light would have been a lantern. Exactly which sense of jack went into this is obscure to me, as it's a broad-spectrum word, but ultimately all of them stem from the informal (and sometimes derogatory) diminutive of John.
---L.
