Jack the Ripper

British  

noun

1. an unidentified murderer who killed at least seven prostitutes in London's East End between August and November 1888

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Jack the Ripper Cultural  

1. A criminal in London in the late nineteenth century apparently responsible for several ghastly murders by slashing. His identity is unknown.

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Example Sentences

During his career, Warner embraced the role of the villain, acting as mischievous valet Spicer Lovejoy in “Titanic” and playing Jack the Ripper in 1979’s “Time After Time.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2022

He was Jack the Ripper in “Time After Time” in 1979; two years later, in “Time Bandits,” his character was named simply Evil Genius.

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2022

I also enjoyed a fair amount of history-focused nonfiction, starting with Richard Altick’s witty survey of 19th-century murder, “Victorian Studies in Scarlet,” followed by several document-based accounts of Jack the Ripper.

From Washington Post • Aug. 24, 2021

Jack the Ripper, simply put, was an embarrassment.

From Salon • Jul. 10, 2021

Reports from abroad asserted, erroneously, that Jack the Ripper had returned.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson