by jewi lim
Member since:
April 5, 2009

What does "being a jerk mean"?

September 19, 2009 03:03 AM UTC
views: 0 | comments: 10

I have heard about this word from lots of movies already and dont quite get the exact meaning of the word. I have also tried searching it in wikipedia but just cant seem to find the meaning of the word. But i think its one insulting word that could be used to refer to a person.

Does anyone know what does "being a jerk mean"?

Comments: 10

George Shaw Sep 19, 2009, 3:16am UTC
Actually, to me, the term varies -- it isn't even are clear cut as son-of-a-bitch or bastard. At the low end (least egregious) it could be a smart ass or a smart mouth. At the high end (most egregious) it could be someone that makes somewhat serious mistakes -- cutting you off in traffic but not flagrant enough to be a son-of-a-bitch or a bastard.
I have never looked it up in a slang dictionary. I have just gotten the meanings by inference.
Esther IS Flesh and Blood S. Sep 19, 2009, 5:20am UTC
I would have to concur with George on this one.
jewi lim Sep 19, 2009, 6:05am UTC
Maybe the reason that its not found in dictionaries is that is a slang word. I actually thought that a jerk is really an english word because its quite commonly used in movies and i think kids at a young age also learn it from watching movies. Although im not sure if its a bad word or if there is something wrong using that word.
Gessy D. Sep 19, 2009, 8:55am UTC
I don't know, but I hear the work all the time.
Paula Slade Sep 19, 2009, 8:56am UTC
From Merriam-Webster's Third New International Unabridged: (5th entry) "A stupid, foolish, naive or unconventional person." The actual origins may be Middle English from the verb "yerken" - to " pull, thrash, hurl, kick." However, it has come to mean a multitude of things in contemporary language as you can see at the online source "Urban Dictionary." http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Jerk
Paula T. Sep 19, 2009, 10:22am UTC
From the On-Line Etymology Dictionary:
jerk (n.) Look up jerk at Dictionary.com
1935, "tedious and ineffectual person," Amer.Eng. carnival slang, perhaps from jerkwater town (1878), where a steam locomotive crew had to take on boiler water from a trough or a creek because there was no water tank. This led 1890s to an adj. use of jerk as "inferior, insignificant." Probably also infl. by verb jerk off, slang for "perform male masturbation" (first recorded 1916). Jerk off (n.) as an emphatic form of jerk (n.) first attested 1968
David E. Sep 19, 2009, 1:56pm UTC
I like to use this as a source when I hear phrases and wonder where they come from.
Larry H. Sep 19, 2009, 3:53pm UTC
SOMEONE WHO GIVES OTHER PEOPLE A HARD TIME.

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