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Jane Hancock

Jane Hancock

1 7.8
A person's signature used as a joke
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : firma
  • After reviewing the contract, she quickly added her Jane Hancock at the bottom.

Examples

  • Just give me your Jane Hancock right here, and we're good to go.

  • Please put your Jane Hancock here.

  • He had a unique way of signing his Jane Hancock on every document.

  • She placed her Jane Hancock at the bottom of the page to make it official.

  • I need your Jane Hancocks on this document.

  • Please sign here with your Jane Hancock to finalize the agreement.

  • The artist used a bold pen to write his Jane Hancock on the canvas.

Synonyms

signature
vsJane Hancock
288 1.2

A person's name written by hand to show who they are or that they agree

is informal and humorous rather than formal identification or authorization
John Hancock
vsJane Hancock
  • Informal
7 4.5

A person's signature written when asked to sign

is a playful informal term rather than a casual request form
siggy
vsJane Hancock
  • Texting
9.8

A short informal signature used in emails or online posts

is a playful in person word rather than an online friendly label

How Legible

Jane Hancock
  • Informal
1 7.8
scrawl
6 5.7

Surface Forms

Jane Hancock singular
Jane Hancocks plural

Morphology

Jane + Hancock

The meaning 'a person's signature' cannot be derived from the literal constituents 'Jane' and 'Hancock' because these are personal names/surnames and do not encode the concept of signing; the phrase is a playful variation on the cultural reference 'John Hancock' (a famous signer). A B1 learner who only knows the constituent words but not the historical/cultural allusion would not predict the idiomatic meaning, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Jane Hancock is a playful name for a person's written 'signature'. It comes from the famous signer John Hancock, who made his signature very large on an important American paper, so people use Jane Hancock as a funny way to mean 'signature'.