Jack Horner pie

English

Etymology

In reference to the nursery rhyme Little Jack Horner.

Noun

Jack Horner pie (plural Jack Horner pies)

1. A paper ornament, or sawdust-filled pan, etc. containing hidden gifts to be drawn out by children at a party.
   • 1894, Pratt Institute Monthly, volume 2, page 105:

     Sometimes, instead of being hung on the tree, the children's gifts are put in a Jack Horner pie, a pan filled with sawdust in which the gifts are hidden, to be pulled out by each little Jack Horner in turn.

   • Elsie Duncan Yale, When Mother Lets Us Give a Party

     In the center of the table should be a “Jack Horner” pie, in the form of a large paper rose, and from this “pie,” pink ribbons run to each place. (A Jack Horner pie can be bought, all ready to set on the table.)