Jaw-cove, subs. (American thieves’).—1. An auctioneer; and (2) a
lawyer.—Matsell (1859).
Jawhawk, verb. (American).—To abuse; to vilify; to jaw (q.v.).
1890. Scribner’s Magazine, p. 242. ‘He’d ev shot him, if he hadn’t
skedaddled.’ ‘Well, sir! What fur?’ ‘Oh, jest jawhawkin’ a Yank and
burnin’ his heouse down.’
Jawing- (or Jaw-) tackle, subs. (nautical).—The organs of speech. To
have one’s jawing tacks aboard (or to cast-off one’s jaw-tackle) = to
talk fluently.—Clark Russell. jawing-match = wordy warfare.
1859. C. Reade, Love me Little, xxii. Ah! Eve, my girl, your
jawing-tackle is too well hung.
1819. Moore, Tom Crib, xviii. Chap. 6 proves from the jawing-match
and set-to etc.
Jaw-smith, subs. (colloquial).—An orator; also a loud-mouthed
demagogue. [Originally an official ‘orator’ or ‘instructor’ of the
Knights of Labor—St. Louis Globe Democrat, 1886].
Jay (or J), subs. (common).—1. A simpleton. For synonyms see Buffle and
Cabbage-head.
1889. Pall Mall Gazette, 21 Sept., p. 3, col. 1. The amateur
gamblers—youths of sixteen or seventeen, and flats or jays—are the
chief patrons of faro.
1890. Punch, 22 Feb. She must be a fair j as a mater.
To play (or scalp) one for (or to flap) a jay, verb. phr. (common).—To
dupe; to swindle. See Flap. Fr. rouler dans la farine.
1890. Gunter, Miss Nobody, p. 25. Telling in broken English how he
scalped the Eastern jay.