jigger1

[jig-er] /ˈdʒɪg ər/
noun
1.
a person or thing that jigs.
2.
Nautical.
  1. the lowermost sail set on a jiggermast.
  2. jiggermast.
  3. a light tackle, as a gun tackle.
3.
any of various mechanical devices, many of which have a jerky or jolting motion.
4.
Informal. some contrivance, article, or part that one cannot or does not name more precisely:
What is that little jigger on the pistol?
5.
Ceramics. a machine for forming plates or the like in a plaster mold rotating beneath a template.
6.
Mining. a jig for separating ore.
7.
a jig for fishing.
8.
Golf. a club with an iron head intermediate between a mashie and a midiron, now rarely used.
9.
Billiards, Pool. a bridge.
10.
  1. a 1½-oz. (45-ml) measure used in cocktail recipes.
  2. a small whiskey glass holding 1½ ounces (45 ml).
Origin
1665-75; jig1 + -er1

jigger2

[jig-er] /ˈdʒɪg ər/
noun
1.
Also called jigger flea. chigoe.
2.
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. chigger.
Origin
1750-60; variant of chigger

jigger3

[jig-er] /ˈdʒɪg ər/
verb (used with object)
1.
to interfere with.
2.
to manipulate or alter, especially in order to get something done illegally or unethically:
to jigger company records to conceal a loss.
Origin
1865-70; jig2 (in verbal sense) + -er6
Examples from the web for jigger
  • Each of us had to down a jigger of the stuff in one gulp.
  • It is really easy to define oneself as a good school when you jigger the inputs.
  • When the pre-set weight of fish has been hooked, the jigger can automatically reel in the line.
  • After heating, add a jigger of spirits and a cinnamon stick.
  • If the bartender pours using a jigger, record the jigger size and measure the contents of the jigger using water and the graduate.
British Dictionary definitions for jigger

jigger1

/ˈdʒɪɡə/
noun
1.
a person or thing that jigs
2.
(golf) an iron, now obsolete, with a thin blade, used for hitting long shots from a bare lie
3.
any of a number of mechanical devices having a vibratory or jerking motion
4.
a light lifting tackle used on ships
5.
a small glass, esp for whisky, with a capacity of about one and a half ounces
6.
(NZ) a light hand- or power-propelled vehicle used on railway lines
7.
(engineering) a type of hydraulic lift in which a hydraulic ram operates the lift through a block and tackle which increases the length of the stroke
8.
(Canadian) a device used when setting a gill net beneath ice
9.
(mining) another word for jig (sense 5)
10.
(nautical) short for jiggermast
11.
(billiards) another word for bridge1 (sense 10)
12.
(US & Canadian, informal) a device or thing the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten
13.
(Liverpool, dialect) an alleyway

jigger2

/ˈdʒɪɡə/
noun
1.
other names for the chigoe (sense 1)
Word Origin and History for jigger
n.

"1.5-ounce shot glass," 1836, American English, in early use also of the drink itself, from jigger "illicit distillery" (1824), of unknown origin; or else perhaps from jigger, a 1756 alteration of chigger "tiny mite or flea." As a name for various appliances, the word is attested by 1825, from jig.

jigger in Medicine

jigger jig·ger2 (jĭg'ər)
n.

  1. See chigger.

  2. See chigoe.

Slang definitions & phrases for jigger

jigger

noun
  1. An artificially made sore, usually on the arm or leg, useful in begging: whether it will pay to use his ''jigger'' (1890s+ Hoboes)
  2. A liquor glass of one-anda-half ounce capacity; shot glass (1857+)
  3. thingamajig (1874+)
verb
  1. To interfere with; queer: jigger our riding on the railroad (1890s+ Hoboes)
  2. To tamper with or falsify; doctor: There is pressure from Casey to jigger estimates/ how the gold trading was jiggered (1970s+)
Related Terms

doodad, i'll be damned

[giger, ''lock,'' is found by 1612, apparently coined by Thomas Dekker, and is probably the source of the third noun sense]