Jimplecute; Jimsecute (1865?)

Tue Aug 28 07:12:55 UTC 2007

Any help with "jimplecute"or "jimpsecute" (I don't have 19th Century US
Newspapers or the American Periodical Series Online or the good version of
America's Historical Newspapers) will be appreciated...The 1930s acronym is
of note...Not fit for HDAS?
...
...
...
 http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/jimplecute_jimpsecute/
...

 Entry from August 28, 2007
Jimplecute (Jimpsecute)

"Jimplecute" is almost exclusively used as the title of the *Jefferson
Jimplecute*, the fifth-oldest newspaper in Texas. The words "jimplecute" and
"jimsecute" were used in 19th century Texas to mean "a sweetheart." The
origin is unknown, but a derivation from the old English word "jimp" is
likely.

The Jefferson *Jimplecute* newspaper has a whimsical drawing of an animal by
that name. In the 1930s, the newspaper promoted that JIMPLECUTE was an
acronym for "Join Industry Manufacturing Planting Labor Energy Capital in
Unity Together Everlasting," but it is extremely unlikely that this is the
origin of the term.

Wikipedia: Jefferson
Jimplecute<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Jimplecute>
*The Jefferson Jimplecute* is the newspaper of record in the city of
Jefferson, Texas.

It was founded in 1848 and is the fifth oldest newspaper in the state.

The origin of the paper's unusual name is not known, as the original
publisher did not leave any clues. However, four theories have arisen as to
the origin:

(1) An early editor dropped several pieces of type on the floor, and upon
returning them to his composing stick, randomly spelled out the word
"jimplecute".
(2) A mythical creature developed to frighten superstitious slaves during
the American Civil War.
(3) A slang term meaning "sweetheart", "slim", or "neat" (the word "jimp" is
defined as such in some dictionaries)
(4) An acronym for the motto "Joining Industry, Manufacturing, Planting,
Labor, Energy, Capital (in) Unity Together Everlastingly." (This is
considered by the paper to be the most reliable, and the motto exists in the
newspaper heading.)

Jefferson Jimplecute: History <http://www.jimplecute.biz/history.htm>
*History of the "Jimplecute" *

One of the most intriguing facets of Jefferson life is the name of its
newspaper - The Jimplecute.

Billing itself as the fifth oldest newspaper in the state, the Jimplecute's
name has prompted an untold number of questions and more than a few
"answers" as to the origin of the name.

It's doubtful, however, that anyone will ever know the answer since the
publisher who chose the name left no clue as to its origins.

Jefferson's first newspaper was "The Democrat," first published in 1847 by a
Gen. W.N. Bishop. The newspaper changed hands several times in just a few
years, and the name was changed to "Spirit of the Age."

The Jimp, as it is familiarly known, was first published in 1848, and that
is reflected today on the underline of the front-page nameplate. The price
of a subscription back in 1848 was $4. Today, it's $20.

There are at least four explanations for the newspaper's unusual name,
ranging from the understandable to the sublime.

The first typifies the sublime. One tale has it that the paper's first
editor, sometimes described as a tippler, dropped a handful of type to the
floor before gathering them up randomly in his composing stick. The random
letters, of course, spelled "Jimplecute."

The second explanation - and probably the most believable—is that the word
is an acronym for the motto: Joining Industry, Manufacturing, Planting,
Labor, Energy, Capital (in) Unity Together Everlastingly."

Yet a third explanation is that the word is, indeed, a legitimate one with
an overseas ancestry. Thanks to research done by Fred Tarpley for his book
"Jefferson: Riverport to the Southwest," there is evidence to suggest the
word "jimplecute" is a slang term sometimes meaning "sweetheart" or "slim"
or "neat" in other slightly different forms.

The word "jimp," according to Tarpley's research, is of Scottish origin and
dates to the 16th century. Then, the word meant "slender, slim, delicate,
graceful, neat." The word "jimp" still appears in dictionaries and is
defined as described above.

The fourth explanation is that a "Jimplecute" is, in fact, a horrible
mythical creature created, some say, to frighten superstitious slaves before
and during the War Between the States.

The beast has been described as "a crouched animal with the mouth of a
dragon, the head of an Indian, the body like that of a large armadillo, the
front legs and feet like those of a lion ready to spring." The creature also
featured a snake atop its back and a forked tail.

Legend has it that the creature came about when publisher Ward Taylor
commissioned an itinerant sign painter to create the beast to lend
significance to the word itself.

The name, however, is fitting, in some measure. It is a singular appellation
attached to an institution that has served a unique community for more than
150 years.

(Dictionary of American Regional English)
*jimpsecute* n Also *jimplecute*, *jimpsycute* [Orig uncert but of *EDD
jimsey* (at *jimp* adj.) "neat, smart" + *cute*; *SND jimp* adj. "Of
persons: slender, small, graceful, neat, dainty"]
MS, SW, esp TX *obs*
A sweetheart.
1869 *Overland Mth.* 3.131 TX, When a Texan goes forth on a sparking errand,
he does not go to pay his devoirs to his Amaryllis...but his "jimpsecute."
1870 in 1896 Farmer-Henley *Slang* 58, The *Jimplecute* of Texas changed her
name, which was a good thing to do—*Jimplecute* being Texas vernacular for
sweetheart.
1890 *AN&Q* 5.6, In some of the South-western States a young man's
sweetheart is his *Jimsecute.*
1891 *Ibid* 8.60, In the State of Mississippi, I several times heard the
word *jimpsycute* used in the sense of "sweetheart," it being always, so far
as I remember, applied to the young lady in the case.

19 March 1937, Ogden (UT) *Standard-Examiner*, pg. 11A, col. 8:
JEFFERSON, Tex. (UP)—A new oil well believed to have tapped a vast oil pool
comparable to the Rodessa pool has brought back the "Jimp."

The only newspaper in the United States to bear the name Jimplecute has been
purchased by Tom Foster, aggressive Texas journalist who began publishing
his Kilgore Daily News within 70 hours after the discovery of the mammoth
East Texas oil field.

The Jimplecute, founded 60 years ago stands for Join Industry Manufacturing
Planting Labor Energy Capital in Unity Together Everlastingly.

5 August 1957, Dallas *Morning News*, "About the Mystery of Jimplecute" by
Frank X. Tolbert, part 4, pg. 2:
THE JIMPLECUTE now carries a clue to what old Colonel Taylor was getting at
under its Page I mast. This hints that Jimplecute stands for "Join Industry,
Manufacturing, Planting, Labor, Energy, Capital (in) Unity Together
Everlasting."

Editor Hicks showed us a different clue to the mystery. It seems that there
was an old southern slang word, "jimpricute," which is supposed to have
meant "of novel and pleasing appearance." Maybe, that's what The
Jimplecute's founder had in mind when he named his paper.

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