A large pocket knife. Often a large one. Or sometimes one not-so-large, but a pocket knife.
The jackknife may have gotten its name because it originally was associated with sailors, formerly called "tars", or "jack tars". "Jack Tar" being an English term for seamen. (Sea men, sea-men, men who go to sea in ships, but not that other stuff you might be thinking of. Keep it clean and tidy, 'K?)
Or "tars".
They were also called "tars" because they put tar on stuff. A lot. It's what they did a lot of. To seal up the leaky ships, which once upon a time were made of boards. Boards of wood. Which were kind of leaky, you can imagine. (Right? Are we right?) But they didn't want to sink down with the ship, the tars didn't, if the ship sank, so they slathered tar all over the place. And likely the knife business came in somewhere, 'cuz guys like knives an stuff. Who can say?
Also known as: "pocket knife". Mostly because it's a knife that fits in a pocket, maybe? Yeah, prolly.
Anyhow, handy. A handy thing. A tool.
Handy to cut stuff with, and because the blade or blades fold into the handle, you don't cut your hand while handling it. Unless it's unfolded and the blade is out. Which is when you don't want to put it in your pocket, so you "jackknife" it and get it all folded and safe. And then you put it back in your pocket. If you're not stupid. (Good luck there, Bud.)
All of which seems kind of complicated, but that's life sometimes, isn't it?
Bye.
Have anything worth adding? Then try sosayseff+eff@gmail.com
Me? Working on my situps. For some reason they expect you to be upright at work, but it's a hard attitude to maintain. Working on it.
Etc...
so says eff: sporadic spurts of grade eff distraction
definitions: outdoor terms
fiyh: dave's little guide to ultralight backpacking stoves
boyb: dave's little guide to backpacks
snorpy bits: nibbling away at your sanity
last seen receding: missives from a certain mobile homer
noseyjoe: purposefully poking my proboscis into technicals