Jack Frost
3
6.3
- noun
- /dʒæk frɔst/
- Literature
:
Jack Frost
- When Jack Frost visits, the trees glisten with a beautiful layer of frost.
- Jack Frost will nip
- Jack Frost nipping
- old Jack Frost
Examples
-
Children eagerly await the arrival of Jack Frost, hoping for snow days and winter fun.
-
Jack Frost reclaims his mythological identity, and the heroes face off against Pitch in an effort to return wonder to human children.
Blog text (2) -
Jack Frost had but to touch the palace lake with his white fingers, and she knew her greatest joy as she skimmed across its surface.
-
Jack Frost, the spirit of winter, is a reckless teenage boy who spreads his gift of winter magic to the world.
Blog text (23) -
For children, the delicate, fern-like patterns left by Jack Frost on the inside of a windowpane can be magical.
Blog text (4) -
Chestnuts rusting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
-
In winter, Jack Frost paints delicate patterns on the windows each morning.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Jack + Frost
The name pairs the common personal name 'Jack' (often used generically for a man) with 'frost' (freezing/crystalline ice), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer a personification or figure associated with frost and cold weather. Although detailed cultural connotations or stories about the character may require exposure, the core meaning is compositional and predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
Jack Frost comes from old folk stories that turned the cold into a person. People imagined Jack as a playful figure made of frost who paints icy patterns on windows and 'nips' at noses, so today Jack Frost means the figure who brings 'cold weather'.