jackleg

[ jak-leg ]

adjective

1. unskilled or untrained for one's work; amateur:

   a jackleg electrician.

2. unscrupulous or without the accepted standards of one's profession:

   a jackleg lawyer.

3. makeshift; temporary.

noun

1. an unskilled or unscrupulous itinerant worker or practitioner.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jackleg¹

1840–50, Americanism; perhaps jack ¹ + (black)leg

Example Sentences

I flagged him back a piece and told him the Jackleg was there.

From Project Gutenberg

Out there in the sunshine the Jackleg looked the part, so I wondered how we come to be faked by him.

From Project Gutenberg

I reports an' asks instructions as to the best way of disposin' of Mr. Jackleg's remains.

From Project Gutenberg

This was so at Jackleg, but it gave a long vista of Main Street from the heart of the town to its outlying suburbs.

From Project Gutenberg

This train that was stopping to cast loose the special car at Jackleg was the last to stop at that station at night.

From Project Gutenberg