English

Proper noun

Jake ‎(plural Jakes)

1. A male given name.
   • 1927 Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Chapter III:

     Brett smiled at him. "I've promised to dance this with Jacob," she laughed. "You've a **** of a biblical name, Jake."

   • 1985 Ed McBain: Snow White and Rose Red: page 10:

     Her attendant - Jake, she had called him, which seemed an appropriate name for a redheaded, no-neck redneck with the muscles of a dedicated weight lifter - - -

English

Adjective

jake ‎(comparative more jake, superlative most jake)

1. (slang) Adequate; satisfactory; acceptable.
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, p. 126:

     ‘What do you care? Just keep your nose clean and everything will be jake.’

Noun

jake ‎(plural jakes)

1. (US) A juvenile male turkey.
   • 1998, Jerome B Robinson, In the Turkey Woods

     The spring turkey woods are occupied by roaming bands of jakes — year-old males with strong mating urges but inferior body size.

2. (New York, slang) police, a federal government officer.
   • 1998, Big L, "Ebonics (Criminal Slang)"

     A radio is a box, a razor blade is a ox / fat diamonds is rocks and jakes is cops.

3. (US, slang) Jamaica ginger
4. A Discordian prank involving a large number of people sending bizarre letters or parcels to a targeted individual.
   • 1993, "selvarv, the keeper of Rig", Today's impending JAKE! (on newsgroup alt.discordia)

     Hello, I'm afraid in some regards I'm too discordian for my own good and I forgot to either write down the jake-dupe's address, or include it in my repost when I suggested today as jake day....

   • 1994, "Matthew Morse", StarTrek (on newsgroup alt.discordia)

     It strikes me that organizing a jake over the net is a bad idea, because Hormel could conceivably find out about it before it happens. That's not going to stop me from participating though.

   • 1999, "Jeff X. Mink", My Christmas Card! (on newsgroup alt.discordia)

     Call me old fashioned, but this situation is really inappropriate for a jake. […] I mean that a little girl was seriously injured, […] and we, as Discordians, should have more respect for the holy tradition of the jake, and use its powers only for those situations where it can actually do some good, or at least be worth a good laugh.

Derived terms

• jake leg

Verb

jake ‎(third-person singular simple present jakes, present participle jaking, simple past and past participle jaked)

1. (transitive) To play a Discordian prank on (somebody), involving a large number of people sending bizarre letters or parcels to that person.