Jury-rigged vs. Jerry-rigged

Jury-rigged vs. Jerry-rigged Jury-rigged vs. Jerry-rigged Jury-rigged vs. Jerry-rigged By Maeve Maddox A reader asks to know the difference between jury-rigged and jerry-rigged. Of the two, the older term is jury-rigged, a nautical term dating from the days of sail. Because they were often damaged in storms, sailing ships carried a spare mast called the jury-mast. Apart from scholarly speculation, the etymology of jury in this context is unknown. The jury-mast was like a spare tire, to be used only in an emergency and replaced by the real thing as soon as possible. The adjective jury-rigged came to be applied to anything intended to be of temporary use. Here are some examples of the term in current usage: Andrew Gill, had coolly waited for the weather to calm down after his vessel lost its mast and communications equipment in rough weather, and then jury-rigged a sail to get him to his destination.- SailWorld, 2012 Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water, and the critical need to  jury-rig  the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to  Earth  on April 17.- Princeton University site. A second expression that is earlier than jerry-rigged is jerry-built. As with the jury in jury-rigged, the origin of the jerry in jerry-built remains a mystery. First (1881) came the term jerry-builder: It is unfortunately too often the habit of builders- or rather jerry builders- to use the worst possible description of bricks. A jerry-builder was a contractor who put up shoddy houses for a quick sale. The first citation for the adjective jerry-built to describe shoddily built houses is dated 1869. Here are two recent examples of the use of jerry-built: In their need for access to varied sources of employment and cheap housing, immigrants were restricted to decaying or jerry-built housing.- The American Landscape, Stephen F. Mills, Routledge, 2013   Central to nearly all the semi-abstract paintings in â€Å"With a Tug and a Hold† are what appear to be architectural structures, or fragments of the built environment: a jerry-built wood shack here, a bit of metal scaffolding there.- The Washington Post, 2012. â€Å"Jerry-rigged† conflates â€Å"jury-rigged† with â€Å"jerry-built.† In American usage, jerry-rigged refers to something devised or repaired with materials at hand. Here are some examples: Our presentation was jerry-rigged because we hadn’t been able to get the software to work correctly in time.- The Accidental Millionaire, Gary Fong, BenBella Books, 2009. With the Afghan army also lagging in explosives experts, its members often resort to jerry-rigged tactics to locate and defuse IEDs, officials say.- The Washington Post, 2014 It was the very definition of jerry-rigged: She’d cut some slits in the back of a gel skin phone cover that would serve as credit card slots, taped a piece of cardboard on as a makeshift cover, and added a string to form a wristlet.- Huffington Post, 2014 Frustratingly, in this case, my attempt to use my iPad as a jerry-rigged solution has actually  created  problems I didn’t have before.  - MIT Technology Review, 2012. Although not in either the OED or Merriam-Webster, the verb to Macgyver is used with a similar meaning by some speakers: to Macgyver: to invent useful devices from ordinary materials. A device or mechanical solution created by Macgyvering is a Macgyverism. The words derive from the name of Angus MacGyver, a television character noted for his ability to resolve dangerous problems by non-violent means. Instead of a gun, this hero carries duct tape and a Swiss Army knife. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Slang Terms for Money35 Genres and Other Varieties of Fiction30 Words for Small Amounts