jacks
jacks Lexical Profile
jacks Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A traditional game in which players toss a small rubber ball into the air and attempt to pick up an increasing number of small, six-pointed metal or plastic pieces from a flat surface before catching the ball.
"The children sat on the kitchen floor playing a competitive round of jacks."
Irish A toilet, bathroom, or lavatory (informal slang).
"He excused himself from the table to nip to the jacks before the concert started."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the children's game, 'jacks' is plural in form but takes a singular verb (e.g., 'Jacks is played on a flat surface').
• Rhymes for jacks
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
As the name of the game, shortened from 'jackstones' (17th century), formed from the given name Jack used generically for small objects. The Irish slang sense meaning 'toilet' derives from the archaic British dialectal term 'jakes' (privy).