Jelly-belly, subs. (common).—A fat man or woman; a forty-*guts (q.v.).
Jem, subs. (Old Cant.).—A gold
ring: rum-gem = a diamond ring.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v.
1859. Matsell, Vocabulum, s.v.
Jemima, subs. (common).—A chamber-pot;
a urinal (q.v.). For
synonyms see It.
Jeminy! (or O Jeminy!), intj.
(common).—See Gemini.
1686. Durfey, Commonwealth of Women, Epil. Oh jemminy! what is the cause of that?
1880. Besant and Rice, Seamy Side, xxii. 'Oh, jeminy!' says the judge—crafty old man, that!—'here's artfulness!'
Jemminess. See Jemmy.
Jemmy (or Jimmy), subs. (common).—I.
A short crowbar, usually
made in sections screwing together,
used by housebreakers. Also
James (q.v.).
English synonyms. Bess; betty; crow; dog; Jack-in-the-box; James; jilt; lord-mayor; persuading plate; pig's-foot; the stick; screw (also a skeleton key); tivvill; twist; twirl.
French synonyms. Les agobilles (thieves' = house-breaking tools); les alènes (pop: = shoemakers' awls); l'avant~courier (thieves'); le bataclan (= the kit); le cadet (thieves'); l'enfant; Jacques (= jemmy); sucre de pomme (thieves'); le biribi; le rigolo; les halènes (see alènes, ante); le monseigncur (Cf. Lord Mayor); les outils (= tools).
Spanish synonyms. Culebra (= adder).
1752. Adventurer, No. 100. And when I went out, carried in my hand a little switch, which, as it has been long appendent to the character that I had just assumed, has taken the same name, and is called a Jemmy.
1811. Lex. Bal., s.v. Jemmy. A crow. This instrument is much used by housebreakers. Sometimes called jemmy rook.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xx. She presently returned with a pot of porter and a dish of sheeps' heads: which gave occasion to several pleasant witticisms on the part of Mr. Sikes, founded upon the singular coincidence of jemmies, being a cant name, common to them, and also to an ingenious implement much used in his profession.
1837. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends (Nell Cook), They call for crowbars—jemmies is the modern name they bear.
1851. H. Mayhew, Lon. Lab. and Lon. Poor, iv, 339. Expert burglars are generally equipped with good tools. They have a Jemmy, a cutter, a dozen of betties, better known as picklocks.
1888. Saturday Review, 15 Dec., p. 719. One side of slang was illustrated by the burglar Casey in a well-known case of robbery in the City some years ago, who explained in Court that the big Jemmy with which iron shutters were prised open was called the 'Alderman,' adding, 'it would never do to be talking about crowbars in the street.'
1890. Daily Graphic, 7 Jan., p. 14, col. 4. He saw the prisoner leaving, and he detained him until a constable arrived. A jemmy was found in the back yard.
1890. Standard, 7 Ap., p. 6, col. 3. During the chase the Prisoner threw away a jemmy, a lantern, and a key.
1892. Globe, 10 May, p. 2, col. 1. Opening a front door with . . . a Jemmy.
1894. Westminster Gazette, 31 March, 5, 2. Police constable Skeggs said there were marks of a jemmy on the window and the front door.
