jagoff
{{Short description|Derogatory slang term for someone who is stupid or inept}}
Jagoff or jag-off or the abbreviation jag is an American English derogatory slang term from Pittsburghese meaning a person who is a jerk, stupid or inept.{{cite web |last=Johnstone |first=Barbara |title=American Varieties: Steel Town Speak |authorlink=Barbara Johnstone |work=Do You Speak American? |publisher=PBS |date= |url=https://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/pittsburghese/ |accessdate=August 5, 2012}} It is most prominent in the Pittsburgh area and Pennsylvania in general, along with wide use in Chicago, particularly in the Irish taverns.{{cite web |title=Pittsburgh Speech & Society Dictionary |publisher=University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |date= |url=http://pittsburghspeech.pitt.edu/PittsburghSpeech_Dictionary.html |accessdate=August 5, 2012}}{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania |work=Dictionary of American Regional English |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |date= |url=http://dare.wisc.edu/sites/dare.wisc.edu/files/DAREindex.htm#Pennsylvania |accessdate=August 5, 2012 |archive-date=March 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305180802/http://dare.wisc.edu/sites/dare.wisc.edu/files/DAREindex.htm#Pennsylvania |url-status=dead}} The Dictionary of American Regional English defines the term as a "general term of disparagement".{{cite web |title=D |work=Dictionary of American Regional English |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |date= |url=http://dare.wisc.edu/?q=node/176 |accessdate=August 5, 2012}} It is an archetypical Pittsburgh word, evoking feelings of delight among Pittsburgh expatriates.{{cite news |last=Sodergren |first=Rebecca |title=Ex-Pittsburghers are hungry for Pittsburgh |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=July 3, 2012 |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/food/ex-pittsburghers-are-hungry-for-pittsburgh-638204/?p=0 |accessdate=August 5, 2012}} Despite the term's phonetic resemblance to jack off, the two possibly have different origins and jagoff, while derogatory or playful, is generally not seen as obscene among Pittsburghers and Chicagoans.
Etymology
According to Barbara Johnstone, professor of English and linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University,{{cite web |title=Barbara Johnstone, Professor of English and Linguistics |publisher=Department of English, Carnegie Mellon University |date= |url=http://www.cmu.edu/hss/english/people/faculty/bios/barbara-johnstone.html |accessdate=August 5, 2012}} the term has its roots in the northern British Isles, an area that supplied many immigrants to Pittsburgh. She says it is derived from the verb "to jag", meaning "to prick or poke", with an extended meaning of sharply changing direction or zig-zagging.{{cite book|last=Johnstone|first=Barbara|title=Pittsburgh Speech and Pittsburghese|year=2015|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH|isbn=978-1-614-51178-6}} This seems plausible since another Pittsburghese word used for thorn is ‘jagger’ and thorn bush is ‘jagger bush’.{{cite web |title=Pittsburgh Speech & Society Dictionary |publisher=University Library System, University of Pittsburgh |date= |url=http://pittsburghspeech.pitt.edu/PittsburghSpeech_Dictionary.html |accessdate=August 5, 2012}} Johnstone said that among local Pittsburghers, "Nobody thinks of these derivatives of 'jag' as obscene".
The Oxford English Dictionary gives the term's etymology as "from jackoff, perhaps influenced by jag".{{cite web |date=16 September 2016 |title='Jagoff' Officially Added To The Oxford English Dictionary - CBS Pittsburgh |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/jagoff-officially-added-to-the-oxford-english-dictionary/ |website=www.cbsnews.com}}
Controversies over the term
In 2010, Pittsburgh native and coach of the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, John Calipari, raised hackles in the media when he jokingly referred to fellow Pittsburgher John Buccigross as a "jagoff".{{cite news | last =Miller | first =Mike | title =Calipari's term of endearment | newspaper =NBC News | date =January 25, 2010 | url =http://beyondthearc.nbcnews.com/_news/2010/01/25/4341058-caliparis-term-of-endearment | accessdate =August 5, 2012 | archive-url =https://archive.today/20130129140311/http://beyondthearc.nbcnews.com/_news/2010/01/25/4341058-caliparis-term-of-endearment | archive-date =January 29, 2013 | url-status =dead }}
In 2012, David Shribman, a Massachusetts native and executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, issued a letter banning the use of the word "jagoff" anywhere in the newspaper. The decision was mocked by Chris Potter of the Pittsburgh City Paper, noting that Shribman's letter belied an utter lack of understanding of the actual etymology and history of the word, as he had confused it with the more base homophone, "jack off", common slang for masturbation.{{cite news | last =Potter | first =Chris | title =Let Us Now Praise Famous Jagoffs - The latest chapter for a misunderstood word | newspaper =Pittsburgh City Paper | date =June 27, 2012| url =http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/let-us-now-praise-famous-jagoffs/Content?oid=1537997 | accessdate =August 5, 2012}} In response The Beaver County Times used some form of the term 19 times in a single article, suggesting that Shribman has "Jagoffphobia".{{cite news|title=There's nothing but (censored) everywhere we look |newspaper=The Beaver County Times |date=June 30, 2012 |url=http://www.timesonline.com/article_22bb02cc-67ff-5fcf-905a-f741b5211097.html |archivedate=February 4, 2013 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130204230701/http://www.timesonline.com/article_22bb02cc-67ff-5fcf-905a-f741b5211097.html |accessdate=August 5, 2012 |url-status=dead }}