Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
LONDON (Reuters) - A teen-ager with a criminal record has scooped nearly 10 million pounds ($15 million) playing Britain's national lottery on his first try, newspapers reported Tuesday.
At a conference organized by lottery company Camelot, Michael Carroll, 19, said he had never played the lottery before but on a whim decided to buy two "lucky dips" which netted him a 9.7 million pounds jackpot.

Carroll, who was recently released from jail and still has to wear a court-ordered electronic tag so police can monitor his whereabouts, said he was now going to mend his crooked ways. "I was like any normal teen-ager and made a few mistakes," he was reported as saying in the Daily Telegraph. "But that's all changed now. It won't happen again."

Carroll's win has prompted a furious response from some tabloid newspapers -- the Daily Star branded him a "Jammy Git" and the Sun called for convicted criminals to be banned from playing the lottery.



What the heck is a Jammy Git? I'm guessing that jammy in some ways refers to jam, but I'm certainly not sure.

It's certainly amusing what those papers will do to drum up circulation!



TEd
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
M
old hand
Offline
old hand
M
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
hey TEd, will an answer from a Canuck (who is deeply in touch with her British roots) do?!

My understanding of "jammy" is that it means "lucky," prolly because Brits do love their jam, though I'm willing to sit corrected if I'm wrong. A git is an annoying person. "Jammy" has, I believe, an additional connotation, in that someone who is jammy got lucky without really trying.

Now let's see what t'other side o' t'pond has ter say....


#85707 11/05/02 02:45 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
R
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
R
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
"Jammy" means unreasonably lucky, TEd. (unreasonable in the eye of the beholder, that is! )

So far as I know - and it is infinitessimally possible that I might be wrong - it derives from the saying, "S/He's got jam on both sides of his bread." - meaing he is receiving more than his/her fair share of the good things in life.

It depends on tone of voice to be really sure whether you are bitter or not about the pother persons good fortune. The Sun is undoubtedly bitter. And stupid. If it really does reform the youth ( a debatable matter, without doubt) then it is certainly to be applauded.
It is far more likely, says he, cynically, that the youth will drink and drug himself into an early grave. Which The Sun no doubt will applaud.

I should point out, for those who do not know our wonderful country, that The Sun represents all that is the worst in Britain. It is a truly dreadful newspaper. thanks for the proof-reading, AS - you'll have to come to Ireland for the Guinness, though.

EDIT: Ha, curses - pipped to the post by modgod!!! (Couldn;t have been done by a nicer person)

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
A
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
A
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
So... it's essentially synonymous with "lucky bastard" ?


#85709 11/05/02 02:50 PM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Was lucky Jim so lucky that the title could have been Jammy Jim? In other words, just how jammy was Jim?


#85710 11/05/02 03:57 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
I should pint out

Thanks, Rhuby. Make mine a Guinness.

All seriousness aside, unfortunately I know all too well what a git is. Had never heard "jammy" before, so thank you, TEd, for bringing it to our attention and thank y'all for answering his query.


#85711 11/05/02 03:58 PM
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 27
C
newbie
Offline
newbie
C
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 27
A similar incident occurred in the states not long ago when an illegal alien won one of the super-prize-mega-bonus-etc lottery pay-offs that make the papers. This poor guy was crossing the border to take minimum and less than minimum wage jobs in the states to support his family. Frankly, with the lottery being the sucker bet that it is, it could rightly be argued that he had no business wasting precious funds on this gamble but, in his case anyway, it paid off big.

Until, that is, word got out that he was one of (loud piano discord) "them" and suddenly there was a push on to deprive ANY illegal alien from winning ANY lottery money. The final judgment was that if the state was going to take in the funds that these people were spending on lottery tickets, then they damn well better pay out the winnings to the jammy gits (though I don't think they were referred to as such in the article I read) holding the hot tickets.

So there!




#85712 11/06/02 12:33 AM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 167
J
member
Offline
member
J
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 167
jammy has the same meaning in Oz, but recently a synonym was introduced, courtesy of Shane Warne, the famous cricketer: "arsey" (as in "you arsey c***", picked up on the wicket-cam microphone during a game)


#85713 11/06/02 11:11 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
wicket-cam

Is that right *on the wicket? Does it get bowled over from time to time? Or is it on the sticky part of the wicket?


#85714 11/06/02 06:47 PM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
S
sjm Offline
old hand
Offline
old hand
S
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
Wicket-cam

Is in the middle stump, which is hollowed out to accommodate it. One area in which the penal colony to my west truly excels is the televisual coverage of sporting events. Wicket-cam is an Aussie invention, and a truly great one too.


Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5