Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

(Amelia) #1

jump smoothin. to give up illegal activi-
ties; to become straight. (Underworld.)
Freddy jumped smooth just in time. 
After a night in the junk tank, I knew I had
to jump smooth.


jump-start 1. n. the act of starting a car
by getting power—through jumper ca-
bles—from another car. I got a jump-
start from a friend. Who can give me a
jump-start? 2. tv. to start a car by getting
power from another car. I jump-started
her car for her. I can’t jump-start your
car. My battery is low.


jump-start someonetv. to get someone
going or functioning. I need to jump-
start Bill early in the morning to get him
going in time to get on the road by a de-
cent hour.


jump (street)n. the beginning; the start
(of something). (Prisons and streets.) 
I knew from jump that you were going to
be trouble. Way back at jump street, I
spotted you as a troublemaker.


jump the guntv. to start too soon; to start
before the starting signal. Don’t jump
the gun again. Wait till I tell you. The
secretary jumped the gun and gave out the
letters too soon.


jumpymod. nervous. I’m a little jumpy
today, and I don’t know why. Now, don’t
be jumpy. Everything will be all right.


junglen. a vicious area of confusion; the
real world. The place is a jungle out
there. You’ll grow up fast out there. Once
you’re out in that jungle, you’ll appreciate
home more.


jungledmod. alcohol intoxicated; affected
by jungle juice. Pete is a little jungled.
He was jungled before he came here.


jungle juicen. homemade liquor; any
strong liquor. This jungle juice will
knock you for a loop. Jungle juice will do
in a pinch.


jungle mouthn. a case of very bad breath;
breath like the rotting jungle floor. My
husband woke up with jungle mouth, and
I could hardly stand to be around him. 
Wow, Wayne really has a bad case of jun-
gle mouth.


juniper juicen. gin. (From the juniper
berry flavoring of gin.) He just lived for
his daily ounce of juniper juice. Tra c y
used to like juniper juice before she went
on the dust.
junk 1. n. heroin; drugs. Is Sam still on
junk? It will kill him. 2. n. a Caucasian.
(Rude and derogatory.) Those cops are
junk and they hate my guts.

junk bondn. a low-rated corporate bond
that pays higher interest because of
greater risk. (Parallel to junk food.) 
Don’t put all your money into junk bonds.
Junk bonds pay a lot of interest.
junk faxn. an unwanted and irritating fax
message. We got nothing but a whole
pile of junk faxes today. I wish they
would outlaw junk faxes.
junk foodn. food that is typically high in
fats and salt and low in nutritional value;
food from a fast-food restaurant. Stay
away from junk food. It’s bad for you. 
Junk food tastes good no matter how greasy
it is.

junk heapn. a dilapidated old car; a di-
lapidated house or other structure. 
They lived in that junk heap for thirty
years and never painted it. Why don’t
you fix up that junk heap?
junkie and junky[“dZ@Nki] 1. n. a drug
dealer. (Drugs.) Bart is a junkie. 
Junkies should be put into the jug. 2. n. a
drug user; an addict. (Drugs.) The
junkies can be helped, you know. Junkies
have to steal to support their habits.

Junk it!exclam. Throw it away! This is
taking up too much space. Junk it!
junk mailn. unwanted or annoying adver-
tising mail. All we got was junk mail to-
day. I read everything that comes in the
mail, even the junk mail.
junk squadn. police who enforce the nar-
cotics laws. (Underworld.) The junk
squad has more than it can handle trying
to keep up with the hard stuff. We n e e d
a bigger junk squad in this part of town.

junk tankn. a jail cell where addicts are
kept. (See also drunk tank.) That junk

junk tank
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