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Jump Street

Posted by ESC on January 30, 2000

In Reply to: Jump Street posted by Fred Hammon on January 30, 2000

: I've heard the phrase "Right from Jump Street". I take it to mean 'Right from the beginning'
: Does anybody know its origin?

The first person I heard use the expression was African-American. It's similar to "from the word 'go,'" meaning from the beginning of the race. My guess is that it was a reference to the beginning of a board game. That's the image I get when I hear the phrase. Here's what it says in Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner by Geneva Smitherman (Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, N.Y., 1994): "jumpstreet -- the start; the beginning point of something. Also 'Giddyup! Giddayup,' 'Git-Go,' 'Jump,' 'Rip.' See also from 'jumpstreet.'"

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