The dialectal word jimmycane denotes a “strong, destructive wind.” The origin of jimmycane is uncertain, although it may be an adaptation of hurricane. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Jimmycane, Another Word For Hurricane”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Larry Ott from Lafayette, Indiana.
Hi, Larry. Welcome to the show.
Hey, Larry. What’s up?
Thank you.
My family had a couple of things they used to say, and I just was hoping you might be able to shed a little bit of light on it.
The word Jimmy Kane. My grandma was the first one I heard use it. When there was trouble coming of some sort, she would say, there’s a Jimmy Kane a-coming. And we were like, what the heck is it? Jimmy came. It definitely had to do with storms and weather, but it also covered a whole range of other things that, you know, say you got some family problems and you know there’s going to be trouble or something. I kind of liken it to when Dr. Phil says, no good can come of this. No good can come of this. You sound just like him. It’s something bad that’s a-coming. Is that right?
Right, exactly.
Well, Larry, when you talk about a jimmy cane, usually what you’re talking about is a really strong wind. And by strong, I mean a really destructive one. And we’re not really sure of the origin, but it’s probably a variant of the word hurricane. It’s not quite as bad as a hurricane because it’s an inland storm. And it’s strong enough to do some damage. It’s a straight wind that can knock things down. It’s just one of these winds that does a lot of damage. I’m looking at a newspaper from 1879 that says, a perfect Jimmy Kane visited these parts Thursday afternoon, blowing the top knots off haystacks, unrooting sheds, raising outhouses, lumber piles, etc. Considerable fine real estate changed hands on that day.
Well, that definitely sheds some light on this situation. Well, I’m very interested that your family uses it metaphorically because I’m not used to seeing that. It’s usually specifically talking about weather, but I could see where you would, if you’re looking at metaphorical clouds looming in the distance or anticipating something bad happen, I can see how you would use the term Jimmy King there.
Wow, interesting.
All right, take care, Larry. Thanks for calling.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Be well.
Bye-bye.
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