| Neotacha | 16 May 2010 5:08 p.m. PST |
On this thread TMP link olicana shared his good luck in finding a nice painting desk. The general consensus is that he was very lucky. But four of the posts suggested he was covered in jam. So why jammy, regardless of the other appellations that follow? What is the advantage of being coated in preserved fruit and sugar? |
| Streitax | 16 May 2010 5:25 p.m. PST |
Truly, how did 'jammy' come to mean lucky. Nothing in wikipedia and my google fu has proven too weak to penetrate the miasma of time and root out its origins. |
| Neotacha | 16 May 2010 6:13 p.m. PST |
My google-fu suggested some sort of connection with the whole "jam every other day" thing from Alice, but that seems a little weak to me. |
| Klebert L Hall | 16 May 2010 6:21 p.m. PST |
Jam is good… so if you have jam, you're lucky? I'm just guessing, must be one of those British things since I've never heard it before.
-Kle. |
| Pictors Studio | 16 May 2010 8:46 p.m. PST |
It doesn't mean purely lucky though. The meaning has some deviousness to it. So it is like being lucky and taking advantage of that fact, sort of. At least that is the way that we use it. |
| britishlinescarlet2 | 16 May 2010 11:39 p.m. PST |
Pictors is right! There is also a hint of envy in using the term,as in you wish that the "jammy" event or situation had happened to you. For more information on this and other colloquialisms try this: effingpot.com/slang.shtml Pete |
| Red3584 | 17 May 2010 2:08 a.m. PST |
If you're trying to get authentic usage it is usually followed by 'git'. |
| Parmenion | 17 May 2010 2:48 a.m. PST |
I've always thought of it as being undeservedly fortunate. No idea of the etymology though. |
| Cerdic | 17 May 2010 3:28 a.m. PST |
Usually 'jammy git'. When fortune smiles on someone particularly widely they are upgraded to 'jammy sod'! I can't help with the origins of the term but it has been widely used for as long as I can remember. |
| Cerdic | 17 May 2010 3:36 a.m. PST |
Pete – great link! The use of ' *****d' for drunk reminds me of something the comedian Michael MacIntyre said. You can use ANY random word to mean 'very drunk' and people will understand. For example, "I was completely gazeboed!". I've tried it with all sorts of words and he is right. We obviously expect everyone to be totally ratted in this country! |
| Karellian Knight | 17 May 2010 5:11 a.m. PST |
From the biscuits Jammy Dodgers. Meaning you've dodged bad luck. |
| Last Hussar | 17 May 2010 2:08 p.m. PST |
Cerdic- "I was completely bricoled" |
 McKinstry   | 17 May 2010 2:20 p.m. PST |
<q?"I was completely bricoled" Drunk and annoyingly pedantic? |
| Sane Max | 18 May 2010 3:28 a.m. PST |
There are in fact an enormous number of words it DOESN'T work with. But it was funny. Pat |
| Martin Rapier | 18 May 2010 6:49 a.m. PST |
Jammy, hmm, well I found this: "The word ‘jammy', meaning ‘lucky', originates in the early-19th century sporting slang expression ‘real jam' –something of exceptional quality. ‘Jam' then mutated into general slang to refer to a profit, and thence to something
that was easy. Or alternatively, as they say on Call My Bluff, it comes from the French phrase ‘jamais de guerre', a timeof prosperity and peace. Either way, it works." |
| pissant | 18 May 2010 2:57 p.m. PST |
'Used widely?' This is my first exposure to the term. 'Jammy' isn't a word I've even heard. 'Jammies' for pajamas is the only close derivative I'm familiar with. |
 20thmaine | 19 May 2010 7:38 a.m. PST |
Widely Used ? Yes, very widely used. Try a google search for "jammy beggar" or "jammy git" and you'll find lots of examples. "That was jammy" – is a general expression that you were lucky. "He's a jammy git" – is a general expresion that he's lucky (and doesn't really deserve it) |
has been spending time in paradise lately.
