2006-12-04 18:50:09 · 8 answers · asked by leggs 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Do you meant jaywalk?
The word jaywalker is able to be traced back to 1917, though it may have been in use as early as 1900. It is generally considered to have originated in the United States, possibly from the city of Boston. It is a compound word of the words jay and walk; in this context, jay is used in the obsolete slang sense, referring to a stupid or dull person, or a rube, i.e. someone from a rural area and not familiar with "city ways". At the time, vehicles and traffic signals were a new concept, gaining popularity in the larger cities, so this term would have been used to describe newcomers who were unfamiliar with these recent developments and by extension, to ridicule people who behaved like newcomers but should have known better.
2006-12-04 18:52:04 · answer #1 · answered by BB2791 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
jay was used as a slang word which meant stupid or dull. the time that the term was first used, traffic lights were a new thing and were more popular in large cities, so the people who were unfamiliar with the ways of the city would just walk right into the street.
edit: guy above me has to stop plagurizing
2006-12-05 02:54:07 · answer #2 · answered by fuzzycherrycream 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jay walking
The complete Oxford English Dictionary traces the word jaywalker back to 1917 and labels it 'originally US'. There is a cross-reference to the word jay, which has a number of slang senses. The relevant one is 'a stupid or dull person, a simpleton. Also (as adjective) dull, unsophisticated; inferior, poor'. This is labelled 'US colloquial', and there is evidence of use from 1900. So persons who stupidly ignored traffic regulations were given (in Boston, it seems) this compact name
2006-12-05 02:53:05 · answer #3 · answered by L_n_C_fReAk 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Because J was not running but walking.
2006-12-05 02:58:39 · answer #4 · answered by pj_gal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"jay" is a now obsolete slang word for a stupid person. it was used at the turn of the and early 1900s when traffic signals and crosswalks first got their start. anyone who walked outside of the safety of the crosswalks or ignored the traffic signals was considered stupid or a "jay": as they 'walk'ed across the street.
2006-12-05 03:07:05 · answer #5 · answered by kewtber 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
until they now your name you are a ,,,john doe or j for short.
2006-12-05 02:58:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They only do until I stop.
2006-12-05 02:52:04 · answer #7 · answered by J 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
because theyre ignorant thats why
2006-12-05 03:38:09 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋