2. (common).—See quots; cf. Sanguinary James and Bloody jemmy.
1823. Bee, Dict. of the Turf, s.v. Jemmy (bloody)—a sheep's head; so called from a great dealer in these delicious morceaux.
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 41. The man in the shop, perhaps, is in the baked jemmy line.
1837. Dickens, Oliver Twist, xx. [See ante, sense 1, quot. 1837].
1843. Moncrieff, Scamps of London, ii. I shall stand a jemmy and sauce at Mother White's.
1851-61. Mayhew, Lond. Lab. &c. ii, 48. They clubbed together for a good supper of tripe, or had a 'prime hot jemmy' apiece.
1884. Henley & Stevenson, Deacon Brodie, iv, 1. You're all jaw like a sheep's jimmy.
3. (common).—A shooting coat; also a great coat.
1836. Dickens, Pickwick ch. ii. Your friend in the green jemmy.
4. (common).—A term of contempt. All jimmy = all rot.
Adj. (common).—1. Spruce; dandified. Jemminess = spruceness; neatness.
1754. Connoisseur, No. 19. The jemmy attorney's clerk,—the prim curate.
1767. Gentleman's Mag., Sept. A cute man is an abbreviation of acute . . . and signifies a person that is sharp, clever, neat, or, to use a more modern term, jemmy.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Jemmy-fellow
1800. Whiter, Etym. Magn., p. 359. To this race of words I must refer our vulgar term jemmy.
1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, vol. i. p. 11. He . . . once was as smart a fellow as ever stood toast-master, dressed as jemmy . . . as e'er a commoner in all England.
d.1800. Pegge [quoted by Todd]. Perhaps the new word jemmy should be Gimmy.
1825. Todd, Eng. Dict. s.v. Jemmy, spruce. A low word.
1840. Chambers, Land of Burns, Div. N. I must tell you that Burns had got a pair of jemmy boots for the journey.
2. (common).—A term of contempt. See subs., sense 4.
Jemmy Ducks, subs. phr. (nautical).—The
ship's poulterer; also Billy
Ducks.
1880. Harwood, [U. S. N.] Mess Table Chat. As to chanticleer, the keeper of the live-stock, Jemmy Ducks, had long ceased to regard him as worthy of his solicitude.
1883. Clark Russell, Sailors' Language, s.v.
Jemmy Jessamy, subs. phr. (old).—A
dandy. For synonyms see
Dandy. Also as adj.
1753. Adventurer, No. 100. The scale, however, consists of eight degrees; Greenhorn, jemmy, jessamy, Smart, Honest Fellow, Joyous Spirit, Buck, and Blood.
1772. G. A. Stevens, Songs Comic and Satyrical, 139. Macaronies so neat, Pert jemmies so sweet, With all their effeminate brood.
1788. G. A. Stevens, Adv. of a Speculist, i. 24. With ladies when jemmys and jessamys mix.
1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, xiii, 180. This was very different language to that she had been in the habit of hearing from her jemmy jessamy adorers.
1853. Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, i. 19. My dear young lady readers may know . . . what a courage and undaunted passion he had. I question whether any of the jemmy-jessamines of the present day would do half as much in the face of danger.
Jemmy and Jessamy; subs. phr. (American).—A pair of lovers.—Maitland.
