jerk around


Take unfair advantage of, manipulate or deceive, as in Leave me alone; quit jerking me around! or He was jerking you around when he said he was home all evening. [Slang; mid-1900s]

Words Nearby jerk around

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

How to use jerk around in a sentence

  • He made one of his exclamatory gestures, a swift jerk around of the head toward her.

  • A rope sang, dropped over his arms and head, tightened with a jerk around his waist.

    The Sheriff's Son | William MacLeod Raine
  • The released sapling sprang upward, the noose tightened with a cruel jerk around his ankle, and he was snatched into the air.

    David and the Phoenix | Edward Ormondroyd
  • This they throw with a peculiar jerk around the neck of their victim.

    Cord and Creese | James de Mille