Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A toy consisting of a clownlike puppet that springs out of a box when the lid is activated.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
jack-in-a-box .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Children’s toy where a figure
pops out of a small box. - noun obsolete A con-man who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun plaything consisting of a toy clown that jumps out of a box when the lid is opened
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word jack-in-the-box.
Examples
-
The crank clicked as Fancy turned it, like a jack-in-the-box, only instead of hearing music, they saw the image of the happy place on the screen projected onto the four walls, and then the ceiling and the floor.
-
A sinister jack-in-the-box haunts the lives of the children who owned it.
-
The man had come upon him like the eruption of a jack-in-the-box.
-
The bead will pop into your vision like a jack-in-the-box.
Shotgun Slug Accuracy Tips from the American Slug Shooting Association
-
She knew the huge, twenty-foot, spring snake coiled inside the camera and ready to leap out like a jack-in-the-box when Dick squeezed the bulb.
-
He is a jack-in-the-box the way he pops into the chair.
-
I think a middle-aged man with a big paunch straddling a motorcycle looks like a jack-in-the-box before it springs—all rolled up in himself.
-
I think a middle-aged man with a big paunch straddling a motorcycle looks like a jack-in-the-box before it springs—all rolled up in himself.
-
Thomas Mugridge popped out of his galley like a jack-in-the-box.
-
I think a middle-aged man with a big paunch straddling a motorcycle looks like a jack-in-the-box before it springs—all rolled up in himself.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.