job lot
746
a certain area, or over a period of time: The town suffered
heavy job losses when the steelworks shut down.
job 'lot n [(off)] (often derog) a group of things of different kinds,
all bought or sold together
Jobs, Steve /dʒɒbz, stɪv/ (1955-) a US computer designer
and businessman who, together with Steve WOZNIAK,
designed and built the first real personal computer and
started the APPLE computer company
job-shar-ing /'dʒɒbʃeərɪŋ||'dʒɑːb-/ n BrE [U] the practice of
dividing a full-time job between two people so that each
works for half the time. This practice is becoming more
popular, especially as a way of helping women with children
return to work.
jobs-worth /'dʒɒbwɜːθ||'dʒɑːbwɜːrθ/ n BrE infml, often humor
a usually uniformed male attendant, especially in an unim-
portant post, who sticks closely to rules rather than using
common sense. His favourite saying when refusing to meet a
request is 'It's more than my job's worth' (e.g. to let someone
do something). (=he would lose his job if he let them do it)
Jo'burg /'dʒəʊbɜːg||-'bɜːrg/ an informal name for JOHANNES-
BURG
jock /dʒɒk||dʒɑːk/ n AmE infml often derog a sportsman, especially
a college student who is very keen on sport and not very
clever
Jock n BrE infml a word meaning a man from Scotland, which
is used especially by English people and is offensive to
Scottish people
jock·ey¹ /'dʒɒki||'dʒɑːki/ n a person who rides in horse
races, especially professionally → see also DISC JOCKEY
jockey² v [T+obj+adv/prep, especially into] to persuade gradually
and skilfully: They were reluctant at first, but we managed to
jockey them into signing the agreement. → see also JOCKEY for
position (POSITION¹)
'Jockey Club, the the organization that is responsible for
making the rules that govern the sport of horse racing in the
UK, and for making sure that people involved in the sport
follow the rules
'Jockey shorts trademark a type of men's UNDERPANTS
jock·strap /'dʒɒkstræp||'dʒɑːk-/ also athletic sup-
port·er AmE — n infml a tight-fitting undergarment for
supporting the male sex organs, worn while doing sports
jo·cose /dʒə'kəʊs, dʒəʊ-/ adj lit or fml joking; meant to or
meaning to cause amusement —ly adv —ness, jocosity
/dʒə'kɒsɪti, dʒəʊ-||-'kaː-/ n [U]
joc·u·lar /'dʒɒkjʊlə||'dʒɑː-/ adj fml meant to or meaning to
cause amusement, perhaps in reply to a serious question: a
jocular reply/person —ly adv —ity /,dʒɒkjʊ'lærɪti||,dʒɑː-/
n [U]
joc·und /'dʒɒkənd||'dʒɑː-/ adj lit & poet merry; cheerful —ity
/dʒəʊ'kʌndɪti, dʒə-/ n [U]
jodh·purs /'dʒɒdpəz||'dʒɑːdpərz/ n [P] trousers for horse
riding that are tight from the ankle to the knee and loose
above the knee → see PAIR (USAGE)
Jod·rell Bank /,dʒɒdrel 'bæŋk||,dʒɑː-/ an OBSERVATORY
(=place from which scientists study the stars etc) in Chesh-
ire, northwest England
Joe Bloggs /,dʒəʊ 'blɒgz||-'blɑːgz/ also Joe 'Soap BrE,
Joe 'Blow AmE & AustrE, infml an ordinary man, not someone
who is famous, powerful, rich etc: Everything he says is
reported in the papers, but if he was just Joe Bloggs no-one
would take any notice.
Joe 'Public BrE, John Q. 'Public infml the average
member of the public, or people in general: What politicians
don't realize is that Joe Public isn't really that interested in
politics.
jog¹ /dʒɒg||dʒɑːg/ v -gg- 1 [T] to push or knock slightly with
the arm, hand etc: She jogged my elbow and made me spill my
coffee. 2 [+adv/prep] to move slowly, shaking up and down or
from side to side: The carriage jogged along the rough
road. 3 [I] to run slowly and steadily, especially for exercise:
I go jogging in the park before breakfast. | (fig.) Our lives just
jog along (=move uneventfully) from day to day. → see RUN
(USAGE) 4 jog someone's memory to make someone
remember
jog² n 1 a slight shake, push, or knock: I gave him a jog to
wake him up. 2 a slow steady run, especially for exercise, a
fashionable thing to do, especially in the 1980s: I go for a jog
in the park every morning.
jog·ger /'dʒɒgə||'dʒɑː-/ n a person who runs slowly and
steadily for exercise, but who is not fit or fast enough to be
called a runner —jogging n
jog·gle /'dʒɒgəl||'dʒɑː-/ v [I;T] infml to (cause to) shake often,
but slightly —joggle n
'jog trot n [S] a slow steady run (of a person) or TROT (of a
horse)
Jo·han·nes·burg /dʒəʊ'hænsbɜːg||-'bɜːrg/ also Jo'burg
infml the largest city in South Africa, and a centre for business
and industry. Before the end of APARTHEID, black people were
not allowed to live there, and had to live in TOWNSHIPS
outside the city, especially SOWETO.
john /dʒɒn||dʒɑːn/ n AmE slang 1 for TOILET 2 a word used by
American PROSTITUTES for one of their customers
John, El·ton /'eltən/ (1947-) a British POP SINGER and
SONGWRITER who was especially successful in the 1970s, and
has continued to make popular records. He is known for his
unusual brightly decorated clothes and GLASSES. His official
title is Sir Elton John. → see colour photo on page A30
John, King (1167-1216) the king of England from 1199 until
his death. He is remembered especially for signing the
MAGNA CARTA in 1215, by which he agreed to accept limits
on his power as king. These events are described in a play by
William SHAKESPEARE called King John.
John, Saint one of Jesus Christ's DISCIPLES (=his close
friends and followers), who is believed to have written several
of the books of the New Testament of the Bible: The Gospel
according to St John, which describes the life and teaching of
Jesus, the three Epistles of John, and The Book of Revelation. He
is sometimes called St John the Evangelist and St John the
Divine.
John Bar·ley·corn /,dʒɒn 'bæli:kɔːn||,dʒɑːn 'bærli:kɔːrn/
n [U] lit, old-fash the PERSONIFICATION (=the representation of a
thing as a person, in literature or art) of alcoholic drink,
especially strong drinks such as WHISKY
John 'Birch So·ciety, the a very RIGHT-WING organization
started in the US during the 1950s to fight COMMUNISM
John ,Brown's 'Body a US FOLK SONG about John BROWN,
a man who fought against SLAVERY in the US:
John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on . . .
John Bull
John 'Bull n old-fash a typical Englishman, who is thought of
as representing Englishmen in general. John Bull is shown in
pictures as a large fat man wearing high leather boots and a
WAISTCOAT with the pattern of the UNION JACK on it (=the
national flag of the UK), and there is often a BULLDOG beside
him. He is thought of as being very proud of England, and
as disliking foreigners.
John Deere /,dʒɒn 'dɪər||,dʒɑːn-/ trademark a US company
that makes industrial and farm vehicles and machines