boojack n. a newspaper boy who attracts customers with shouts. Editorial Note: The most similar word I could find was bootjack, ‘a contrivance for pulling off boots,’ but the similarity is superficial. Another similar word, and more interesting in its possible connection, is the exclamation of enthusiasm booya. An unlikely comparison might be made to hijack, connoting, perhaps, the stopping of passersby with exclamations and shouts. A relationship might also be speculated with jack one’s jaws ‘to talk volubly’ (HDAS 1960) ; to jack ‘to steal; hijack’ (HDAS 1930) and ‘to hold up’ (HDAS 1982). (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from...
If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Originally, the tea here was the letter T, as in “truth.” To spill the T means to “pass along truthful information.” Plus...