jack-in-the-box

or jack-in-a-box

[jak-in-th uh-boks]

noun, plural jack-in-the-box·es.

a toy consisting of a box from which an enclosed figure springs up when the lid is opened.

Origin of jack-in-the-box

First recorded in 1545–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for jack-in-the-box

Contemporary Examples of jack-in-the-box

The jack-in-the-box has popped, just as we expected it to, but it still made us gasp.
Amanda Bynes Wigs Out
Kevin Fallon
May 24, 2013

Historical Examples of jack-in-the-box

The man obeyed, with the suddenness of a jack-in-the-box, and stood as if petrified.
The Heart of Thunder Mountain
Edfrid A. Bingham
People expressed their commiseration for a woman married to that Jack-in-the-box.
Amy Foster
Joseph Conrad
Hasn't he brought you a pincushion or a jack-in-the-box, Lady Raikes?
The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 2, January, 1851
Various
The removal of the burden was almost like unsnapping the cover of a Jack-in-the-box.
Elsie Marley, Honey
Joslyn Gray
My man on the bed popped with the agility of a jack-in-the-box for the window.
Desert Dust
Edwin L. Sabin

British Dictionary definitions for jack-in-the-box

jack-in-the-box

noun plural jack-in-the-boxes or 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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for jack-in-the-box

1560s, originally a name for a sharp or cheat, "who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money" [Robert Nares, "A Glossary of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions," London, 1905]. As a type of toy, it is attested from 1702.