jerk-water

jerk-water
1. noun
A branch line train, using light equipment

The mail was brought by a tiny "jerk-water" bobtail dummy and coach run by one, Tony, from Pearl City, a mile away, to a station near the end of the peninsula.

a) Of an inhabited place, small, isolated, backward.

That seems to disappoint them, for every sociologist likes to go back to some jerk-water college and tell those who are in the sociological class how they had to get their information by pantomime."

b) Railroads with low traffic.

He had risen to the head of the greatest street car system in the world from the position of brakeman on a jerk-water railroad.


Wikipedia foundation.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • jerk water — 1. verb To fill a steam locomotive water tank manually from natural water supplies. The Santa Fe, called the Jerk Water route because they jerked water from ponds and wallows for the engine, still frayed out at the Kansas line. 2. adjective Of… …   Wiktionary

  • jerk|wa|ter — «JURK WAW tuhr, WOT uhr», noun, adjective. U.S. Informal. –n. 1. a train on a branch railway. 2. a place on a railroad where trains stop only or chiefly to get water. 3. a place of slight importance. –adj. 1. insignificant; unimportant. 2. not on …   Useful english dictionary

  • Water cure — is a form of water torture in which the victim is forced to drink large quantities of water in a short time, resulting in gastric distension, water intoxication, and possibly death.cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|quote=In the… …   Wikipedia

  • jerk — {{11}}jerk (n.1) 1550s, stroke of a whip, from JERK (Cf. jerk) (v.1). Sense of sudden sharp pull or twist first recorded 1570s. Meaning involuntary spasmodic movement of limbs or features first recorded 1805. As the name of a popular dance, it is …   Etymology dictionary

  • jerk´er — jerk1 «jurk», noun, verb. –n. 1. a sudden, sharp pull, twist, or start: »His old car started with a jerk. 2. a pull or twist of the muscles that one cannot control; twitch: »The nervous jumping of his knee is a jerk from an old accident. 3. Slang …   Useful english dictionary

  • jerk — 01. The truck came to a stop with a sudden [jerk]. 02. The teacher grabbed the young boy by the shirt, and [jerked] him up out of his chair. 03. The policeman indicated a chair to sit in with a [jerk] of his head. 04. The car moved [jerkily]… …   Grammatical examples in English

  • Water cure (torture) — This is an article about a form of torture. For other uses, see Water cure. The Water Torture Facsimile of a woodcut in J. Damhoudère s Praxis Rerum Criminalium, Antwerp, 1556. Water cure as a term for a form of torture refers to a method in… …   Wikipedia

  • Soda jerk — A soda jerk (or soda jerker [cite book | last = Allen | first = Irving | title = The City in Slang | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford Oxfordshire | year = 1993 | isbn = 0195092651 ] ) was a person typically a youth who… …   Wikipedia

  • Everybody Out... Shark in the Water — Infobox Album Name = Everybody Out... Shark In The Water Type = EP Artist = FM Bats Released = 2005 Recorded = Genre = Punk Length = 9:07 Label = Vinyl Dog Records Producer = Reviews = Last album = This album = Everybody Out... Shark In The Water …   Wikipedia

  • jerkwater — 1. noun /ˈdʒɚk.wɑ.tɚ/ A train on a branch line. […] by bailing from near streams with buckets, (the brake man called this operation jerking water) and from this the road gets its name of jerkwater road. 2. adjective /ˈdʒɚk.wɑ.tɚ/ Of an inhabited… …   Wiktionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”