"jake" = fireman

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 7/2/07, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
> Heard today on Boston Channel 5 local news, spoken by Gale Huff, in
> an item about a fireman severely injured by an automobile driver
> while crossing the street:
>
> "his fellow jakes".
>
> "Jake" = fireman is not in OED2.  It is, I think, supposed to be of
> Boston origin.  (In March 2005 I submitted two regional citations,
> the earlier one from the Boston Herald of 2004 April 27.)

It's in HDAS, with Boston-specific cites from 1983.


--Ben Zimmer

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