jigger

noun

1. (US)A double-ended vessel, generally of stainless steel or other metal, one end of which typically measures 1½ fluid ounces (approx. 44 ml), the other typically 1 fluid ounce (approx. 30 ml).

   “A good jigger will have a well formed lip that will pour a clean stream into the cocktail shaker or glass.”

   “He also championed the “bartender’s choice” found on many cocktail menus, the use of jiggers to measure out drinks, and even the ubiquitous use of cucumber slices in water glasses.”

2. (US)A measure of 1½ fluid ounces (approx. 44 ml) of liquor.

   ““People are so dam’ sensitive about colour around here that you can’t even ask a barman for a jigger of rum. You have to ask for a jegro.””

3. (US, slang)A drink of whiskey.
4. The sieve used in sorting or separating ore.
5. One who jigs; a miner who sorts or cleans ore by the process of jigging.
6. A horizontal lathe used in producing flatware.

   “Hand jiggers consisted of two iron frames with a spindle in each - the driving spindle with its iron belt pulley approximately 20 inches in diameter and the driven spindle with a small wooden pulley.”

7. A device used in the dyeing of cloth.
8. A pendulum rolling machine for slicking or graining leather.
9. (UK, dated, slang)A bicycle.

   “He made the discovery that the bikestand was vacant and the machine gone. "Where the thump's my jigger?" he exclaimed.”

10. (dated, slang)An automobile.

    “'[…] And that's your little jigger waiting then? I'm looking forward to something on four wheels myself, but so far I have to be content with two.' 'It's hardly worth while offering you a lift,' said Carrados, when they were in the road, 'but if you don't mind I should like to walk with you as far as your gate.'”

11. (dated)A golf club used to play low flying shots to the putting green from short distances.
12. A warehouse crane.
13. A light tackle, consisting of a double and single block and the fall, used for various purposes, as to increase the purchase on a topsail sheet in hauling it home; the watch tackle.
14. A jiggermast.
15. (New-England)A small fishing vessel, rigged like a yawl.
16. A device used by fishermen to set their nets under the ice of frozen lakes.
17. (archaic)One who dances jigs; an odd-looking person.
18. (New-Zealand)A short board or plank inserted into a tree for a person to stand on while cutting off higher branches.
19. (US)A placeholder name for any small mechanical device.

    ““an air-brush is a big thing-a-ma-bob or whatcha-callit, full of gas, and when you turn on a little jigger, it causes compressed air to squeeze out, which, in turn, going through a needle—” “That wasn't part of the contract, Mr. Jones,” […]”

20. (New-Zealand)A railway jigger, a small motorized or human powered vehicle used by railway workers to traverse railway tracks.
21. The bridge or rest for the cue in billiards.
22. An illicit electric shock device used to urge on a horse during a race.
23. (archaic)A streetcar drawn by a single horse.
24. (archaic)A kind of early electric cash register.
25. (Australia, slang)A total station or its predecessor, a theodolite.
26. A sandflea, Tunga penetrans, of the order Siphonaptera; chigoe.
27. A larva of any of several mites in the family Trombiculidae; chigger, harvest mite.
28. (archaic, slang)A prison; a jail cell.

    “According to a disciplinary notice, a correctional officer saw a "jigger string" coming from cell H-2 to Harper's cell. A jigger string is used to move objects between cells.”

29. (dated, dialectal)An alleyway separating the backs of two rows of houses.

    “"It's jus' through this jigger and round the back of the next block." She hurried through the alleyway in front of me; the pressing back-yard walls prevented anything more than single file.”

30. (dated, euphemistic, slang)The penis.

    “Well, they saw a little boy on the street and his penis was hanging out and they said his "jigger" was hanging out, and I said, "Well, maybe his mother didn't tell him differently."”

31. (euphemistic, slang)A vagina.

    “A tiny pulse from Lisette's thigh beat under my ear: stroke, stroke, stroke. I contemplated the thick red bush of her jigger, so close to my face.”

32. (UK, obsolete)A door.

    “On getting to the top of the stair, to my disappointment there was a padlock upon the garret jigger; I wheep't out my chive, broke it up, and picked the padlock with the back-spring.”

    “"Crash the cull—down with him—down with him before he dubs the jigger. Tip him the degan, Fib, fake him through and through; if he pikes we shall all be scragged."”

33. (slang)An illegal distillery.
34. (UK, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, slang)Ellipsis of jigger gun (“lock pick”).

    “Sizing up the padlock, Mac slapped at a webbing pocket for his lock jiggers, but felt nothing.”

    “The question is, where did he get this jigger from? You don't buy them at ironmongers, you know.' He handled the bright instrument lovingly. As he moved the handles the two tiny levers opened and shut like the mandibles of a Picasso crab.”

verb

1. (transitive)To alter or adjust, particularly in ways not originally intended.

   “You'll have to jigger it from the original specifications to get it to work.”

2. (transitive)To use a jigger.
3. (transitive)To move, send, or drive with a jerk; to jerk; also, to drive or send over with a jerk, as a golf ball.

   “He could jigger the ball o'er a steeple tall as most men would jigger a cop.”

4. (obsolete, slang)To imprison.

   “...offering to swear an alibi for the prisoner [...] to ensure an acquittal. Terms: £50 for value received. No pay if jiggered.”

5. (archaic, slang)To confound; to damn.

   “jigger me, but I think you be turning jest into earnest,”

   “It had always been his habit to say, "I will be jiggered," but this time he said, "I am jiggered."”