Re: when is it right to be wrong?

[Dick Margulis <margulis -at- fiam -dot- net>]

People, people. We're not supposed to be discussing this on list, but 
I'm tired of writing to each of you individually off-list. LOOK IT UP IN 
A FRIGGIN' DICTIONARY, WILL YOU PLEASE!

As I just wrote to Annamarie, who asked me if I was "sure":

I'm sure. I collect dictionaries. And use them.

Jury, in the sense we are discussing, is a nautical term meaning for 
temporary use, as in an emergency. Thus jury mast, jury anchor, jury 
rig. This is where we get the formerly hyphenated verb, to juryrig. 
American Heritage says the origin is unknown. Webster II speculates that 
it is probably from Old French ajurie, meaning relief. Webster II 
contains a lot of speculative etymologies, while AHD consciously chose 
to adhere to the more modern standard of requiring a written citation 
before accepting an etymology. Hence the discrepancy.

The phrase rigging a jury (in a court) is influenced by juryrig, 
probably arose in headline writing, and is more traditionally expressed 
as fixing a jury.

Jerrybuild, according to Webster II, is "probably from jury build." AHD 
has it as origin unknown. But the entry immediately preceding is Jerry, 
chiefly British slang for a German, especially a German soldier. So I 
suspect there might be some influence.

I'd look all these up in my compact OED, but I can't quite focus my eyes 
that small at this time of the morning--even with the magnifier.

Dick

Brad Jensen wrote: