Dear Geist, Is “jerry-built” an insult to people of German descent? I used it in a story about building a tree house when I was a kid. Then I remembered my Irish-Canadian grandpa saying mean things about “jerries,” meaning Germans. (He fought in World War II.) —Mitchell Ramodio, Washington DC Dear Mitchell, The term jerry-built, meaning thrown together carelessly, usually with poor materials, is part of a group of terms whose meanings have become intertwined. Jury-rigged, meaning put together quickly with available materials, was originally a nautical term. It usually referred to makeshift rigging on a ship—carried out with basic supplies, very carefully, in an emergency. The jury part is thought to have come from an old French word, ajurie, meaning “help.” Jerry-built is an accidental conflation of the two terms—not unusual when several similar expressions are floating around in spoken language. Jerry is also a derogatory term (“dated slang,” as the Canadian Oxford Dictionary puts it) for people of German descent, probably because it is somewhat similar to “German.” It caught on during World War II, years after jerry-built (19th century) and jury-rigged (17th century). The proximity of the terms is too bad, considering their actual origins. Then again, people in countries around the world use the German invention jerry-cans—containers that have made it easier and safer to transport water, fuel and other goods—without any grudge against Germany. But if you think jerry-built will be offensive to readers in any way, whether or not there are good grounds for it, you may choose to reword the passage. —The Editors
