Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person who violates
pedestrian traffic regulations by crossing a street away from a designated crossing or who walks on the part of the street intended forvehicles instead of the part designated for pedestrians.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a reckless pedestrian who crosses a street illegally
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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There is a WA law that states as soon as the walk changes to a flashing walk if a pedestrian steps into the cross walk he is a "jaywalker" and can be ticketed.
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Now I can't speak for the rest of Robot 6, but I'm personally not going to judge someone who passes a file or two anymore than I'm going to judge a jaywalker or someone who walks home with a box of pens from the office supply cabinet.
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No cop is going to ask a jaywalker for papers, then immediately handcuff them to the next bus heading for the Mexican border as soon as he hears “Oops, left it in my otherpants”.
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Now, there's also the ever-popular "Let's grab a brisket and fire up the grille," "Good thing that jaywalker got ticketed, before some poor motorist was held responsible for his death," and "What's up with the number of teenage bums with dogs and cats with them?"
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So with visions of dollar signs (Or pound signs anyway) in their heads, they basically reign in the troops if the current figures are good enough, or get them busting every jaywalker in Strathclyde, to get the “detections” up.
See No Evil…… (at least until the next financial year) « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2010
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But, by the way, I was ready to forgive the armed robber, so I'm not going to get all that jacked up about a jaywalker here either.
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But that's like saying that an armed robber ought to be treated the same as a jaywalker.
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In the criminal hierarchy the jaywalker is low on the list.
Byron Williams: Do We Have the Courage to Consider Alternate Vantage Points? 2010
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No cop is going to ask a jaywalker for papers, then immediately handcuff them to the next bus heading for the Mexican border as soon as he hears “Oops, left it in my otherpants”.
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The jaywalker puts himself at jeopardy of imminent injury through his illegal act and has no right to directly harm someone else just to save his ownhide.
The Volokh Conspiracy » Drug Dealers’ Self-Defense Against Other Drug Dealers 2009
frindley commented on the word jaywalker
“an alleged human being who crosses the street at other points than the regular crossings�?
(Fort Wayne newspaper report from 1913) WWW
October 19, 2008
bilby commented on the word jaywalker
J's the jumping jay-walker,
A sort of human jeep.
He crosses where the lights are red.
Before he looks, he'll leap!
Then many a wheel
Begins to squeal
And many a brake to slam.
He turns your knees to jelly
And the traffic into jam.
- Phyllis McGinley, 'J's The Jumping Jay-Walker'.
November 17, 2008
garyth123 commented on the word jaywalker
from Chambers dictionary: a careless pedestrian whom motorists are expected to avoid running down
December 30, 2008
MaryW commented on the word jaywalker
Joseph Stromberg, The Forgotten History of How Automakers Invented the Crime of “Jaywalking” Vox (Nov. 4, 2015)See Peter Jensen Brown, Jaywalkers and Jayhawkers - a Pedestrian History and Etymology of "Jaywalking", Early Sports and Pop Culture History Blog (Nov. 24, 2014)
August 27, 2018