why jack?

[Caleb D.]

first of all i thank all the people who posted replies to my first thread. I was wondering why they decided to use the name "jack the ripper" i understand the ripper part but not the jack. where did the name jack first come into play?

[Roy Corduroy]

Hi Caleb,

In history, the East End was home to the docks, and Jack was a common nickname for sailors, who would go on shore leave cavorting with the ladies of the night.

[Supe]

Caleb,

where did the name jack first come into play?

It came along a long time before Saucey Jacky became infamous. For whatever reason, Jack was the name of choice to attach to almost anything (like Roy's example of "jolly jack-tars). A quick look at Brewer's A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable reveals at least sixty "Jack" references, most of them perjorative. They run from Jack Frost to Jack the Ripper to Jack Pudding (which would seem an old term for the sort of buffoon who would try to swallow 10 black puddings).

Besides, it does have a better ring than Cedric the Ripper or Montmorency the Ripper. The very sound of Jack is harsh and seems to connote a certain level of physical, almost violent, action.

Fact remains, though, that whoever first used the term in a letter was a marketi9ng genius. No question that a certain amount of the mystery's enduring fame owes to the Jack the Ripper brand.

Don.

[Mascara & Paranoia]

I always thought it was a play-on of the term 'jack the lad', only I'm not 100% sure if that's a saying that would've been used back then?

[smezenen]

M&P,
Jack the lad was the nick name of Jack Sheppard (4 March 1702 – 16 November 1724) a notorious English thief. The term Jack the Lad became slang used to describe a cocky, self-confident, roguish or flashy young man, and as such would have definatly been in use in the 1800's as it is today.

Caleb,
"Jack" was used to refer to the ordinary man in the street, as in "I'm all right, Jack" (a little like the usage of Joe, as in he's a regular Joe, I suppose).

[Uncle Jack]

Back then it was common to nickname people and things 'Jack' such as Spring-heeled Jack, Jac Shepherd and so on. So the person who came up with the name (not actually the killer) must have thought of the common nickname of Jack and thought he is a ripper, so he bcame Jack the Ripper.
Welcome to the forums Caleb

[Roy Corduroy]

Jack Black was rat-catcher and mole destroyer by appointment to Her Majesty Queen Victoria during the middle of the nineteenth century. Black cut a striking figure in his self-made "uniform" of scarlet topcoat, waistcoat, and breeches, with a huge leather belt inset with cast-iron rats.

[Phil Carter]

Hello all,

I took a look at this thread thinking of the origin of the word "Jack" as a mystery type, or harmful person.
My first thought was of a Jack-in the box toy. According to Wikipedia...

Origin

The first mechanical or wind-up toys were made back in Grecian times - but the art was revived by watch makers and clock makers during the 1400s. Early in the 1500s,[1] a German clockmaker named Claus made a box for a local prince whose son was about to celebrate his fifth birthday. A simple wooden box with metal edges and a handle, and with a turn of the crank produced a simple tune and out popped a 'Jack,' a Devil, a comical version with a leering smile. Other nobles took note of the child's toy and the idea spread. Technology by the 1700s meant that it was a 'common toy' or novelty often in use for all ages. It was around this time that the image of a devil in a box became cartoon fodder for rogue politicians and other public figures held to ridicule.

Another theory as to the origin of the jack-in-the-box is that it comes from the 13th century English prelate Sir John Schorne, who is often pictured holding a boot with a devil in it. According to folklore, he once cast the devil into a boot to protect the village of North Marston in Buckinghamshire. This theory may explain why in French, a jack-in-the-box is called a "diable en boîte" (literally "boxed devil").

So does our saucy Jack's, name originate from here?

best wishes

and a Merry Christmas to all

Phil

[Archaic]

RAT-MAN, Victorian Superhero

Jack Black was rat-catcher and mole destroyer by appointment to Her Majesty Queen Victoria during the middle of the nineteenth century.

Black cut a striking figure in his self-made "uniform" of scarlet topcoat, waistcoat, and breeches, with a huge leather belt inset with cast-iron rats.

Hi, Roy.

I've seen that illustration before but I never realized there were 3-dimensional cast-iron RATS on his belt- WOW! Thanks for pointing that out.

Hmmm; now he kinda reminds me of some modern-day World Wrestling Celebrity with an outrageous persona and a ridiculously tasteless signature look.

>> Is it true that when the Queen had a rat problem at Windsor Castle
they would shine a powerful rat-shaped police lantern into the night sky to summon Rat-Man?



Cheers, Archaic

[perrymason]

Glad someone mentioned "Springheeled Jack" ,because I think that character might have been a source of inspiration for the "Jack" part of the nickname.

In 1837 in London reports started to circulate about a man that was part monster...large pointed ears, nose and eyes and with claws....that had attacked a young woman named Mary Stevens after leaping upon her from a dark alley.

These kinds of sightings continued,...with the comment that he could leap over 9ft walls with ease, (hence the Spring heel), ....and were printed in Penny Dreadfuls and performed in Punch and Judy shows. He was even mentioned in Henry Mayhews 3 volume release of "London Labour and the London Poor" in 1851, he added a fourth volume in 1863.

I suspect that due to the fact the East End figures in the legend prominently, and since the character was supposed to have been a devil that eluded any pursuers...he was a likely source for at least some inspiration for the given name.

Heres a street scene snippet from Mayhews publication on the East London based poor..

"'The pavement and the road are crowded with purchasers and street-sellers. The housewife in her thick shawl, with the market-basket on her arm, walks slowly on, stopping now to look at the stall of caps, and now to cheapen a bunch of greens. Little boys, holding three or four onions in their hand, creep between the people, wriggling their way through every interstice, and asking for custom in whining tones, as if seeking charity. Then the tumult of the thousand different cries of the eager dealers, all shouting at the top of their voices, at one and the same time, is almost bewildering. “So-old again,” roars one. “Chestnuts all‘ot, a penny a score,” bawls another. “An ‘aypenny a skin, blacking,” squeaks a boy. “Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy-- bu-u-uy!” cries the butcher. “Half-quire of paper for a penny,” bellows the street stationer. “An ‘aypenny a lot ing-uns.” “Twopence a pound grapes.” “Three a penny Yarmouth bloaters.” “Who‘ll buy a bonnet for fourpence?” “Pick ‘em out cheap here! three pair for a halfpenny, bootlaces.” “Now‘s your time! beautiful whelks, a penny a lot.” “Here‘s ha‘p‘orths,” shouts the perambulating confectioner. “Come and look at ‘em! here‘s toasters!” bellows one with a Yarmouth bloater stuck on a toasting-fork. “Penny a lot, fine russets,” calls the apple woman: and so the Babel goes on."

Best regards

[Suzi]

Hi all I did a thing on Jack Black in my Cat Article in Rip- a great guy- and a flash dresser!!

Jack is a usual prefix in England Jack Tar being the most common for a sailor Jack the Lad- a bit of an all about lad!- The use of Jack is also used in 'Jack of all trades (master of none)- Jack in the Box, Jack Frost, etc etc A check through Brewer's Phrase and Fable will come up with loads more!
- It's a universal term for the common man- sometimes of the slightly dodgy aspect- not seen as a seriously unpleasant character- just a bit of a lad (Jack the)