Jacking

/ˈdʒækɪŋ/ verb, noun

Definition

Lifting something with a jack (a mechanical device), or in slang, stealing or taking something by force.

Etymology

From 'jack,' a device named after the common male name Jack, possibly because it was a common tool. The slang meaning emerged in 19th-century criminal vocabulary.

Kelly Says

Carjacking became a crime term in the 1990s, but 'jacking' has been in criminal slang for much longer—and interestingly, many tools and devices are named after common male names like 'jack,' 'jimmy,' and 'tommy gun' for unknown historical reasons!

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