a game in which bone, metal, or plastic pieces (jackstones) are thrown and then picked up in various groups between bounces or throws of a small ball
Sometimes called: knucklebones
Word origin
C19: shortened from jackstones, variant of checkstones pebbles
jacks in American English
(dʒæks)
noun
a children's game in which pebbles or small, six-pronged metal pieces are tossed and picked up in various ways, esp. while bouncing a small ball
Word origin
< jackstone
Examples of 'jacks' in a sentence
jacks
Entered a band of spruce, branches snarled with moss, whiskey jacks fluttering.
Annie Proulx THE SHIPPING NEWS (2002)
Word lists with
jacks
Other Games
All related terms of 'jacks'
jack
A jack is a device for lifting a heavy object off the ground , for example a car .
jack plug
a man or fellow
screw jack
a lifting device utilizing the mechanical advantage of a screw thread, the effort being applied through a bevel drive
jack in
If you jack in something such as an activity or job , you stop doing it.
jack up
If you jack up a heavy object such as a car, you raise it off the ground using a jack.
jacks-in-the-box
a toy consisting of a figure on a compressed spring in a box , which springs out when the lid is opened
half-jack
a flat pocket-sized bottle of alcohol
man jack
a single individual (in the phrases every man jack , no man jack )
cheap-jack
a person who sells cheap and shoddy goods
phone-jack
to steal the mobile phone from (a person)
Union Jack
The Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom . It consists of a blue background with red and white crosses on it.
bottle-jack
a large jack used for heavy lifts
jumping jack
a firework having a long narrow tube filled with gunpowder , folded like an accordion so that when lit it burns with small explosions causing it to jump along the ground
whisky-jack
a large common jay of North America , Perisoreus canadensis, with a grey body, and a white-and-black crestless head
yellow jack
any of certain large yellowish carangid food fishes , esp Caranx bartholomaei, of warm and tropical Atlantic waters
roasting jack
a rotating spit for roasting meat on
jack-in-the-box
A jack-in-the-box is a child's toy that consists of a box with a doll inside it that jumps out when the lid is opened.
jack of all trades
If you refer to someone as a jack-of-all-trades , you mean that they are able to do a variety of different jobs. You are also often suggesting that they are not very good at any of these jobs.
jackscrew
a machine used to raise heavy things a short distance, operated by turning a screwlike shaft
quarantine flag
the yellow signal flag for the letter Q , flown alone from a vessel to indicate that there is no disease aboard and to request pratique or, with a second signal flag, to indicate that there is disease aboard
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a serious infectious disease that people can catch in tropical countries.
yellow flag
the yellow signal flag for the letter Q , flown alone from a vessel to indicate that there is no disease aboard and to request pratique or, with a second signal flag, to indicate that there is disease aboard
gray jay
a large North American jay ( Perisoreus canadensis ) with gray and black feathers and no crest
leatherjacket
any of various tropical carangid fishes of the genera Oligoplites and Scomberoides, having a leathery skin