jack-in-the-box
Americannoun
plural
jack-in-the-boxesnoun
Etymology
Origin of jack-in-the-box
First recorded in 1545–55
Explanation
Do you enjoy being startled? Try playing with a jack-n-the-box. Operated with a crank, this kind of music box plays a little tune until a clown suddenly pops out of an opening in the top. Fun! A jack-in-the-box can be a bit terrifying, especially to a very small child who's not expecting to see a scary (or smiling) face emerge abruptly from a colorful music box. The history of this strange toy emphasizes its frightening nature. In France, it's called diable en boîte, or "devil in a box," and is thought to be inspired by a 14th-century English folklore hero who captured the devil in his boot.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"As far as anyone knew, the T cell receptor didn't undergo any conformational changes when binding to these antigens. But we found that it does, springing open like a sort of jack-in-the-box."
From Science Daily • Dec. 18, 2025
When I’m gone, they tuck her in, and at 2 a.m., when she pops up like a jack-in-the-box, giggling and whining, they sit with her until she exhausts herself and falls back to sleep.
From Salon • Jul. 29, 2025
Australia left the UK last summer with their baggy greens spinning, and India are now twisting the handle of the jack-in-the-box, terrified of when it will burst open.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2024
He demonstrates with a broad smile, his sinewy frame repeatedly squatting, then snapping back up, like a peppy jack-in-the-box.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2024
Stunned but still conscious, Eva dragged herself toward her firstborn, but Hannah, her senses lost, went flying out of the yard gesturing and bobbing like a sprung jack-in-the-box.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
