soda jerk
1
9.8
- noun
- /ˈsoʊdə dʒɜrk/
- Archaic
:
dependiente de fuente de soda
- My grandfather often reminisces about his summer job as a soda jerk, where he learned to make the perfect banana split.
- soda jerk at a drugstore
Examples
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- Not now, Winowski, you stupid soda jerk. - [ Chamber Cocks ]
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At the local drugstore, the soda jerk skillfully whipped up malts and milkshakes for the regulars.
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And Jack Fisk was the soda jerk.
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You look more like a soda jerk, or maybe a plasterer, maybe.
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ED: Now, being a barber is a lot like being a bar man or a soda jerk.
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You're just a soda jerk, the emphasis on jerk.
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He sees the soda jerk, smiles broadly at him, and waves.
Fiction book (1999) -
The soda jerk faints.
Fiction book (1999) -
No, he's a soda-jerk drifter, a hamburger flipper.
Fiction book (1999) -
INT. MOM'S MALT SHOP - CONTINUOUS CLEAN CUT SURFER KIDS are being served their favorite ice cream and malt treats by MOM herself and a young SODA JERK.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
A person who serves drinks from a soda fountain in a drugstore or ice cream shop
A person who brings drinks to guests in a bar or at an event
Surface Forms
Morphology
While 'soda' clearly refers to the drink, the constituent 'jerk' in the common modern sense means a rude person and gives no clue to an occupational role; the compound's historical meaning as a soda-fountain server is an idiosyncratic, archaic occupational term. A B1 learner who knows the literal meanings of the parts would not be able to derive 'person who served drinks,' so the expression is idiomatic and unpredictable from its parts.
Etymology
The noun soda jerk may come from old soda fountains, where the worker had to jerk a handle to mix fizzy drinks behind the soda counter. That's why soda jerk came to mean 'a person who served drinks and ice cream at a soda fountain'.