jack-in-the-box
1
6.5
- noun
- /ˈdʒæk ɪn ðə bɑks/
:
caja sorpresiva
- The clown jumped out of the jack-in-the-box with a cheerful tune, surprising the children.
Examples
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Some years ago, that fellow's parents had bought him a fifty-dollar jack-in-the-box; she wondered if he still had it.
Fiction book (1998) -
A jack-in-the-box that still had his bad face.
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I used to hide in it and spring out like a jack-in-the-box to scare my sisters.
Fiction book (1998) -
You were startled by a jack-in-the-box.
-
You've succeeded in turning me into a fricking jack-in-the-box.
-
To her glee, it hopped suddenly, like the puppet in a jack-in-the-box.
Fiction book (1998) -
The "non-social" stimuli included puppets, a toy bug, a toy out of reach, a jack-in-the-box, a squeaky toy, and loud noise.
Academic text (2004) -
At her birthday party, the children laughed when the jack-in-the-box popped open unexpectedly.
-
He loved winding the handle of the jack-in-the-box and eagerly waiting for it to spring open.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Jack-in-the-box comes from the old use of Jack as a common name for a 'little man' or puppet, and the toy shows a 'Jack' who 'jumps out' of a box when you open it. So a jack-in-the-box is a toy with a figure that suddenly pops up.