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whisky-jack
alteration of whisky john, q.v.
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a gray, crestless jay, Perisoreus canadensis.
See: Canada jay
Quotations
1743
a white Whisker jack or a Jay Like [bird] wap pis ka John or wap pa whisker John.
1795
The . . . Whisky-Jack . . . is very familiar, and . . . so much given to pilfering, that no kind of provisions it can come at, either fresh or salt, is safe from its depredations.
1888
They are called by the men Whisky-Jacks . . . they are pretty birds about the size of a jay and of a bluish-grey colour.
1965
They. . . [Indian trappers] had lived on Canada jays, commonly known as whiskey jacks.
2n. — Obs.
a person trading or selling whisky, especially as an illicit business, to the Indians.
See: whisky trader
Quotations
1907
"There'll be heaps uh fun in the Cypress Hills country when they [the N W M P] get t' runnin' the whisky-jacks out."