jake

See also: Jake, jaké, jakë, and Jakë

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dʒeɪk/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪk

Adjective

jake (comparative more jake, superlative most jake)

1. (slang) Adequate; satisfactory; acceptable.
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 126:

     ‘What do you care? Just keep your nose clean and everything will be jake.’

   • 1955, J P Donleavy, The Ginger Man, published 1955 (France), page 289:

     Wouldn't you just like to see me now, Marion, wouldn't you? I'm not bitter. O no. I'm quite calm. Completely relaxed. But when you come to me in Mayfair when things are as they ought to be, don't try to move in and think things are going to be jake again.

Noun

jake (countable and uncountable, plural jakes)

1. (US) A juvenile male turkey.
   • 1998, Jerome B Robinson, In the Turkey Woods:

     The spring turkey woods are occupied by roaming bands of jakes — year-old males with strong mating urges but inferior body size.

2. (New York, Chicago, MTE, MLE, slang) police, a federal government officer.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:police officer

   • 1998, Big L, Ebonics (Criminal Slang):

     A radio is a box, a razor blade is a ox / fat diamonds is rocks and jakes is cops.

3. (slang) A police officer, a cop (on foot, rather than in a patrol car).
4. (US, slang, uncountable) Jamaica ginger.
   • 1930, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, Administration of Federal Food and Drugs Act: Hearings..., page 1854:

     It is possible that the governments have found the cause of the poisoned “jake” in their investigations into the Jamaica ginger deaths throughout the South and Southwest.

5. A Discordian prank involving a large number of people sending bizarre letters or parcels to a targeted individual.
   • 1993, selvarv, the keeper of Rig, “Today's impending JAKE!”, in alt.discordia (Usenet):

     Hello, I'm afraid in some regards I'm too discordian for my own good and I forgot to either write down the jake-dupe's address, or include it in my repost when I suggested today as jake day....

   • 1994, Matthew Morse, “StarTrek”, in alt.discordia (Usenet):

     It strikes me that organizing a jake over the net is a bad idea, because Hormel could conceivably find out about it before it happens. That's not going to stop me from participating though.

   • 1999, Jeff X. Mink, “My Christmas Card!”, in alt.discordia (Usenet):

     Call me old fashioned, but this situation is really inappropriate for a jake. […] I mean that a little girl was seriously injured, […] and we, as Discordians, should have more respect for the holy tradition of the jake, and use its powers only for those situations where it can actually do some good, or at least be worth a good laugh.

Derived terms

• jake leg

Verb

jake (third-person singular simple present jakes, present participle jaking, simple past and past participle jaked)

1. (transitive) To play a Discordian prank on (somebody), involving a large number of people sending bizarre letters or parcels to that person.

See also

• jake brake

Middle English

Noun

jake

1. Alternative form of jakke

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• jaki, jaka (dialectal)

Etymology

From Old Norse jaki, from Proto-Germanic *jekô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²jaːçə/, /²jaːkə/

Noun

jake m (definite singular jaken, indefinite plural jakar, definite plural jakane)

1. broken ice, icefloe