Page:A Desk-Book of Errors in English.djvu/137

 names have their special application to the people in the premonarchical period (Hebrew), in the monarchical period (Israelite), and in the period subsequent to the return from the Babylonian captivity (Jew).

jewels, jewelry: Words, sometimes, but mistakenly, used interchangeably. Jewels forming the stock in trade of a jeweler are termed collectively jewelry, the articles of adornment, as gems and precious stones, worn by a lady are her jewels.

jiggered, to be: A form of minced oath sometimes used as an equivalent for "to be hanged"; as, "I'll be jiggered if I do": an inelegant form of oath common among Englishmen.

join issue: Not to be confounded with to take issue. To take issue means "to deny"; to join issue, in strict usage, "to admit the right of denial," but not also "to agree in the truth of the denial." In the example "In their career father and son meet, join issue, and pursue their nefarious occupation in conjunction," join issue is improperly used for "agree" or "come to an agreement." To join issue is properly "to take opposite sides of a case," etc.

jollier: A slang term used to designate a person who treats another (from whom he expects a favor, or with whom he desires cordial relations) pleasantly and good-humoredly, or in an agreeable way so as to obtain his end. In its English sense a jollier is one given to chaffing and joking at another's expense.