j
• "But this talk of sorcery and such jiggery-pokery, you know, is the outside
of enough." -- Joan Aiken, The Cuckoo Tree (2000)
Jingle Bells
Facts: These magic words make reference to the traditional Christmas song
by the same name.
In Literature:
• "When he got to his money magic trick you knew for sure he had never
done a children's magic show before. When he asked the audience to chant
the magic words Jingle Bells, Arnie took that as a cue instead and started
playing 'Jingle Bells.' The money trick he was attempting to perform fell out
of his hands and all the kids rushed the stage to grab the falling paper money
while the rest of the crowd sang Jingle Bells as loud as they could. But the
show must go on and the magician picked up another trick even though the
crowd was singing so loud that you could not hear a word he was saying."
-- Sandy Dykes, "The Great Santa Claus Escapade," Inside Magic (2002)
Jingo
(see also by jingo, high jingo)
Origins: This magician's catchphrase "dates from the late seventeenth cen
tury and is first recorded in the forms 'by jingo!' or 'high jingo!' as a bit of
conjurer's patter when some item was revealed as though by magic (the opposite
of 'hey presto!', used when something was ordered to disappear). 'By
jingo!' was also used around this time as another of the many euphemisms
for 'by God' or 'by Jesus' and so became an interjection to show one's surprise
or to give emphasis."
There is speculation that jingo is derived from a Basque name for
God (Jainko). "Jingo is the modified Kingo, the Mentula [fertility] type of
deity. . . . 'By Jingo' is a common oath, but the more emphatic form is 'by the
living Jingo'; that identifies the [Egyptian] Ankh with the living one. . . . This
sense of life enters into our words jink and 'high-jinks.' Jink is to be gay and
ebullient with life. 'High jinks' are the very festival of frolic life."
Facts: Jingo (also Jingu) is the name of a legendary Empress who ruled Japan
until 270 and came to be considered a fertility goddess a century later.7
Jingo became the root of the word jingoism, referring to an aggressive
patriotism, after appearing in a hit music-hall song of 1877. The song, writ
5 Michael Quinon, WorldWideWords.com (2004)
6 Gerald Massey, A Book of the Beginnings Vol. 1 (1881)
7 Bernard Faure, The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender (200 )
