jackleg
adjective
jack·leg ˈjak-ˌleg 
-ˌlāg
1
a
: characterized by unscrupulousness, dishonesty, or lack of professional standards
a jackleg lawyer
b
: lacking skill or training : amateur
a jackleg carpenter
2
: designed as a temporary expedient : makeshift
jackleg noun
Did you know?
Don't call someone jackleg unless you're prepared for that person to get angry with you. Throughout its more than 150-year-old history in English, jackleg has most often been used as a term of contempt and deprecation, particularly in reference to lawyers and preachers. Its form echoes that of the similar blackleg, an older term for a cheating gambler or a worker opposed to union policies. Etymologists know that blackleg appeared over a hundred years before jackleg, but they don't have any verifiable theories about the origin of either term.
Synonyms
- amateur
- avocational
- backyard
- nonprofessional
- Sunday
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
a toolshed that can be built by any jackleg carpenter who's capable of hitting a nail without smashing his thumb he did such a jackleg installation of that door frame that now the door won't shut
Word History
Etymology
jack entry 1 + -leg (as in blackleg)
First Known Use
1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
jackleg 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in amateur
being such only for recreation a toolshed that can be built by any jackleg carpenter who's capable of hitting a nail without smashing his thumb Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- amateur
- backyard
- inexperienced
- avocational
- nonprofessional
- dilettante
- unskilled
- primitive
- uninitiated
- unprofessional
- amateurish
- unschooled
- naïve
- self-taught
- unprepared
- untrained
- untaught
- naive
- weekend
- untutored
- Sunday
- inexpert
- unqualified
- part-time
2
as in inexperienced
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill he did such a jackleg installation of that door frame that now the door won't shut Synonyms & Similar Words
- amateur
- inexperienced
- dilettante
- unskilled
- incompetent
- nonprofessional
- inexpert
- dilettantish
- unprofessional
- unskillful
- amateurish
- curbstone
- new
- uninitiated
- awkward
- unfinished
- untrained
- unschooled
- unqualified
- unprepared
- untaught
- primitive
- clumsy
- untutored
- crude
- defective
- faulty
- ham-handed
- self-taught
- ham-fisted
- unpolished
- unseasoned
- beginning
- would-be
- flawed
- unfit
- untested
- fresh
- incapable
- green
- heavy-handed
- talentless
- entry-level
- untried
- untalented
- unable
- raw
- ungifted
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- professional
- expert
- skilled
- ace
- competent
- master
- capable
- skillful
- virtuoso
- consummate
- adept
- proficient
- crackerjack
- seasoned
- virtuosic
- able
- masterly
- talented
- veteran
- handsome
- experienced
- accomplished
- masterful
- gifted
- taught
- dextrous
- dexterous
- habile
- practised
- qualified
- knowledgeable
- trained
- prepared
- practiced
- educated
- schooled
- initiated
- fitted
- versed
- versatile
- slick
- ambidextrous
- polished
- all-round
- finished
- all-around
- tutored
- well-rounded
3
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards a jackleg lawyer whose clients consist mainly of drug dealers and child molesters Synonyms & Similar Words
- corrupt
- degraded
- sick
- reprobate
- crooked
- dishonest
- degenerate
- dissolute
- perverted
- loose
- libertine
- depraved
- rakish
- debased
- decadent
- warped
- unwholesome
- vicious
- rakehell
- demoralized
- perverse
- debauched
- unclean
- spoiled
- unscrupulous
- rakehelly
- dissipated
- unprincipled
- cutthroat
- bent
- wicked
- immoral
- evil
- bad
- unethical
- contaminated
- tainted
- nefarious
- miscreant
- sinful
- iniquitous
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- pure
- honest
- ethical
- moral
- incorruptible
- uncorrupt
- righteous
- good
- uncorrupted
- principled
- virtuous
jackleg
2 of 2noun
as in kid
a person who lacks experience and competence in an art or science you can't rely on a bunch of jacklegs to run your dairy farm Synonyms & Similar Words
- amateur
- kid
- beginner
- novice
- trifler
- inexpert
- tenderfoot
- hack
- rookie
- hacker
- greenhorn
- freshman
- newcomer
- tyro
- learner
- neophyte
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- craftsman
- expert
- master
- crackerjack
- hand
- ace
- shark
- past master
- adept
- crackajack
- virtuoso
- maestro
- sharp
- wizard
- whiz
- veteran
- vet
- old-timer
- old hand
- sterling area
- sterling bloc
- Sterling Heights
- sterlinger
- sterlingest
- sterlingly
- sterlingness
- sterlingnesses
- sterlings
- Sterlitamak
- stern
- stern board
- stern boat
- stern chase
- stern chaser
- stern fast
- stern frame
- stern gallery
- stern hook
- stern knee
- stern light
- stern line
- stern national monument
- stern sheets
- stern tube