- The term is used referring to the act of the prank itself, such as Lovett doing a jack on Will Rice. It seems that the term “jack” and “prank” have the same usage and can be interchanged, but in the culture of Rice University “jack” is used in this more specific context. It is always used in noun form, such as “to pull a jack” or “having a jack,” and has past tense “jacked.” In these ways, it has the same functions as the word “prank” but is more specific to the context of the Rice traditions.
Jack (9)
noun; zero derivation
A form of prank pulled by one residential college of Rice University on another, usually involving an invasion of said college.
Etymology : Possibly comes from the colloquial “jacking around,” meaning to play around or act less seriously. It also could come from the slang term of “jack” meaning “to steal,” as jacks can involve stealing or otherwise damaging (within reason) a resource or facility of the other residential college. This form is a clipping of the word “hijack,” which originated as US slang with the same meaning. The clipped and original form seem to be synonymous, but both have only a slight relation to the term “jack” as used by Rice undergraduates.
Source : “We will be having a jack on Baker on the 22nd” – O-Week Coordinator, Lovett O-Week 2019, 08/19/19
Last modified: 11 December 2019