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jackleg

 - 2 dictionary results

jack⋅leg

  [jak-leg] Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.
Use jackleg in a Sentence
–adjective
1. unskilled or untrained for one's work; amateur: a jackleg electrician.
2. unscrupulous or without the accepted standards of one's profession: a jackleg lawyer.
3. makeshift; temporary.
–noun
4. an unskilled or unscrupulous itinerant worker or practitioner.
Origin:
1840–50, Americanism; perh. jack 1 + (black)leg
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To jackleg
jack·leg   (jāk'lěg')   
adj.  

  1. Lacking skill or training; incompetent. Used especially of lawyers or preachers.

  2. Unscrupulous or dishonest.

  3. Makeshift; temporary.

n.  

  1. An unskilled or unscrupulous itinerant worker.

  2. A strikebreaker.


[Perhaps jack + (black)leg.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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