Meaning of jack-in-the-box | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Children’s toy consisting of a small box from which a male figure pops out unexpectedly after some turnings of a crank.
2. A small but powerful kind of screw, used by burglars to break open safes.
   historical
3. A con-man who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money.
   obsolete

Equivalents

Examples

“"Did you venture to call me a liar?" ("No, sir, no!" shouted the accused, and disappeared like a Jack-in-the-box.)”

““There’s this terrible business to start with. Scotland Yard men in and out of the house like a jack-in-the-box! Never know where they won’t turn up next.””

“Normally, you ring a bell and you have at least a half-minute wait before the door opens. But this person was like a jack-in-the-box. He pressed the bell—and out she popped! It made him jump.”

“It was possible, from underneath, to use the old jack-in-the-box safe-breaker's tool which lay in his gasman's bag.”

CEFR level