Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A jack of the clock-house, or a figure which strikes the bell in a clock: used in the following passage, probably, in the sense of ‘time-server,’ ‘a person whose friendship changes with changes of the times or of fortune.’
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A figure which strikes the hour on the bell of some fanciful clocks; -- called also
jack of the clock house . - noun A timeserver; an inconstant person.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
figure whichstrikes thehour on thebell of somefanciful clocks ;Jack o' the clock . - noun obsolete A
timeserver ; aninconstant person.
Etymologies
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Examples
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qms commented on the word minute-jack
The "inconstancy" suggestion here is some lexicographer being too clever by half. "Time server" in the pejorative sense means someone who lacks a true commitment to the task. Rather than working toward the goal he merely puts in his time. The minute-jack is *defined* by his constancy. He is time's loyal servant.
The convict who's doing time in stir
And clock-watching worker concur.
No minute-jack knows
The highs and the lows
Of the time serving connoisseur.
The clockwork man's useful power
Is to toll the time from atop the tower.
It brings no shame
To invoke his name.
The minute-jack is the man of the hour.
March 10, 2014