jury-rig

[prettygoodword]

jury-rig or jury rig (JOOR-ee-rig) - n., (naut.) temporary rigging (mast, rudder, etc.) to replace permanent rigging that has been disabled, lost overboard, etc. v., (naut.) to replace lost rigging with a jury-rig; (gen.) to assemble quickly or from whatever is at hand, especially for temporary use.


Also sometimes spelled jerry-rig, by conflation with jerry-build, "to build shoddily/flimsily/cheaply" because jury-rigs are, in the rush of emergency or lack of supplies, often cobbled together. In general, though, usage experts suggest using jury- for improvised and jerry- for shoddy construction. Dates to 1788 as a wider form of jury-mast, a temporary replacement mast (17th century), from a sense of jury of temporary dating to 1616, after which the trail gets cold and there are several proposed origins (Old French ajurie, help/aide; Latin jurare, swear; Old English ġeoro/ġearu, ready/prepared; and French jour, a day, as in a mast du jour) none of them with much to support them.

---L.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

I certainly prefer this to some other versions of the concept.

[prettygoodword]

Such as?

[minoanmiss]

I've heard it with various slurs to denote the sloppy kind of rigging. I once had a memorable experience at a summer camp where a young woman used the term "n-word rigged", as it were, and the discussion quickly devolved along racial lines as to whether or not this was objectionable or "just what she learned from her background". Fun times, fun times.

[prettygoodword]

Yerk. And ugh. Yeah, definitely better.

[mific]

I like the notion that it came from "injury-rigged", but I'm sure there's little evidence to support that. :) Although they might both come from similar roots.

[prettygoodword]

I've seen not a peep to suggest that. The root of the stem of injury is, btw, Latin jus (combining form jur-) meaning right, as in justice. Snipping off prefixes like that usually takes enough time that the original form gets recorded.