jingo
English
Etymology
From the minced oath by jingo, which was used in a music hall song, written ca. 1878 by G. W. Hunt, that supported Britain's then belligerent attitude towards Russia. In this context, a euphemism for Jesus, influenced by the meaningless presto-jingo used by conjurors. A connection with the Basque jainko (“god”) has been suggested, but evidence is lacking.[1]
Noun
jingo (plural jingos or jingoes)
- One who supports policy favouring war.
- 1897 June 19, Carl Schurz, editorial: Armed or Unarmed Peace in Harper's Weekly, reprinted in 1913, Frederic Bancroft (editor), Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz,
- The fact is that Mr. Roosevelt has always with perfect frankness confessed himself to be what is currently called a Jingo.
- 1908, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Orthodoxy,
- He is the jingo of the universe; he will say, "My cosmos, right or wrong."
- 1995, Bradford Perkins, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations: The American Search for Opportunity, 1865–1913,
- "We are all jingoes now," the New York Sun wrote immediately after the 1898 war, "and the head jingo is the Hon. William McKinley."
- 1897 June 19, Carl Schurz, editorial: Armed or Unarmed Peace in Harper's Weekly, reprinted in 1913, Frederic Bancroft (editor), Speeches, Correspondence and Political Papers of Carl Schurz,
Derived terms
References
- Spare me all the outrage and "pseudo jingo stuff" about Iran's imprisonment of our troops, said Peter Hitchens in The Mail on Sunday. – Iran frees sailors, The Week, 7 April 2007, Issue 608, page 5.
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