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(VOL. 1 – 2003) |
 Several American college boys head for the nearest sorority house to engage in the highest jinks they can manage |
of TheColumnists.com
Q. Irwin Peccadillo of Loveland, Ohio writes: “I
am an ardent fan of two Ohio clubs, the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball
team and the NFL Cincinnati Bengals. I am sick and tired, every
time I turn to the sports pages, reading that my clubs are being
called “hapless”--like it’s their first name.
If they ever start winning, will they call them “hap?”
If I can ask a second question, I’ve also been reading about
the goings-on among college kids during their breaks. The papers
call them “high jinks.” If the kids behave themselves,
would it be called “low jinks,” or maybe just “jinks?”
A. 1. Most dictionaries affirm hap as a legitimate term for chance or fortune [save this info for your next Scrabble game]. Hap is derived from an Old Norse word, happ*, which means good luck and was also the ancestor of Modern English words such as happen, happenstance, happy, mishap and of course, hapless. So, yes, Mr. P, the day may come when the press could call the Cavs and Bengals “hap.” But it would be inappropriate, because your teams need much more than good luck–they also need good players.
2. The word jink is both and noun and verb. While most dictionaries belonging to the school of lazy lexicography say “origin unknown,” you have the Scots to thank for jink and popularizing high jinks**. The noun means a ‘quick evasive turn’ and the verb predictably means ‘to make sudden turns and twists.’ It was also used to connote frolicking, sporting and flirting--and in Old Scottish slang–to copulate. So, if you’re concerned about the college kids, settle for high jinks or in the alternative, hope at least that they practice safe jinking.
*Björn Halfanhalf, the noted Old Norse philologist, maintains that the first recorded use of the word happ occurred in 842 A.D. in describing the coronation of Harald the Blond as the first king of Norway. In his famed treatise 100 Ways to Hail a Sovereign (1649 A.D.) Halfanhalf wrote, "Harald rode mid the populace and the courtiers, villeins and churls alike greeted him with the lusty cheer, happ, happ hoorah.” [This cheer was altered somewhat through time but remains a tradition].
**“High jinks” was an old
Scottish drinking game requiring each player in turn to shout
“hy-jinks” and roll dice to designate the next player.
It involved singing bawdy verses, chug-a-lugging drinks and paying
fines if you fail, or drawing money from the bank if you succeed.
According to Morris Nosebender, in his book The Bugsy Siegel
Chronicles (Soprano Press, 1987), “high jinks” inspired
Siegel (who learned all about it when he was bootlegging Scotch
during Prohibition) to create the Las Vegas casino concept. Later
in his brief life, Siegel, who was fond of saying “tell
it to the Indians,” did. And eventually they started to
build their own casinos.
© 2002 by Sid
Frigand. The illustration is from IMSI's Master Clips Collection,
1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA.
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