Date:         Mon, 11 Jun 2001 22:59:58 -0700
Reply-To:     Todd Last <Rubatoguy@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Todd Last <Rubatoguy@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject:      Re: What is "Jury-rigged"? (NO VANAGON CONTENT)
Comments: To: Rachel Cogent <cogent@GNTECH.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

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             The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for May 10, 1999

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                            jury-rig [n.  v. JOO-ree rig]


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        A jury-rig is a makeshift assembly that's just temporary, an
emergency
        measure improvised out of available materials, and to make one is
to
        jury-rig.  Example: "The injured hiker jury-rigged a splint out of
        sticks and twine."

        The most likely origin is from the Old French ajuri (help), from
the
        Latin adiutare (aid).  In this context, the word "jury" was
originally
        a nautical term meaning "temporary," as in a "jury sail." This is
        distinct from the other meaning of "jury" (a group of persons sworn
to
        judge and give a verdict), which comes from Latin iurare (to
swear),
        from ius (law).

        There is also a related expression, "jerry built" (built in a
        slipshod, haphazard way), which probably split off from "jury-rig"
as
        it migrated into English, although some theories suggest it
originated
        independently.  One story relates "jerry built" to the Biblical
story
        of the Prophet Jeremiah, whose lamentations might resemble the
        complaints of someone in a jerry-built house.  Another mentions the

        city of Jericho, whose walls crumbled at the sound of a trumpet.



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Rachel Cogent wrote:

> Entity Jere & Beth Hawn spoke thus:
>
> > Dan,
> >
> > I have/had the same problem however I've jury-rigged
>
> Q: what exactly is "jury rigged"? I always thought maybe this was a WW2
> slang, possibly offensive, borrowed from the Germans (Jerrys, Jerrycan,
> etc).
> Maybe some of you old-timers/Germans/pedants can expound...
>
> Gnarlodious