Jerry-built

Posted by ESC on June 25, 2000

In Reply to: Jerry-built posted by Bob on June 16, 2000

: : I read somewhere that the expression "jerry-built" referred to German (Jerry) products made shortly after WW1 when they were understandably poorly made. I wondered if anyone else had come across this explanation which is evidently incorrect as the expression is known to have been used since 1869 and seems to have other more convincing origins. Comments?

: This is one of those phrases dictionaries list as "etymology unknown." Jerry-built, and jury-built and jury-rigged are all related to something erected in slapdash fashion, or in reponse to an emergency using improvised materials. Human beings being human beings, we cannot abide the notion of an unexplained etymology, so we invent them, as in the WWII example. It's odd, but since we'd rather have a wrong answer than no answer, if you ask for a phrase origin, someone is likely to give you the whole nine yards.

And here, to prove your point, are a bunch of explanations:

JERRY-BUILT - "The cheap, flimsy constructs of a Mr. Jerry of the Jerry Bros. of Liverpool may have inspired the word 'jerry-built.' 'Jerry-built' could also be connected with the trembling, crumbling walls of Jerico; the prophet Jeremiah, because he foretold decay; the word 'jelly,' symbolizing the instability of such structures; or the Gypsy word 'gerry,' for 'excrement.' Still another theory suggests a corruption of 'jerry-mast,' a name sailors and shipbuilders gave to makeshift wooden masts midway through the last century. Jerry-masts or rigs derive their name from the French 'jour,' 'day,' indicating their temporary nature." From Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).

Another question, is this term related to "jury-rigged"?