Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
Jack-o'-Lent .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A small stuffed puppet to be pelted in Lent; hence, a simple fellow.
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reesetee commented on the word jack-a-lent
(Archaic) A figure of a man, set up to be pelted: an ancient form of the sport of "Aunt Sally," practiced during Lent. The figurative meaning of being the butt of a joke derives from this.
Also, a puppet; an insignificant or contemptible person.
October 21, 2008