Jack-in-the-Box -- Do You Know Jack?

A colleague recently suggested I consider jack-in-the-box for this blog, not for its meaning, but rather for the complexities of its plural form (thanks, Lauren). Which is it, jacks-in-the-box or jack-in-the-boxes? (Or how about jacks-in-the-boxes?) Short answer: either (but not the double plural form).

According to Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th ed.) and Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, the plural is -boxes. Webster's Third New International Dictionary, however, says either jacks- or -boxes is accepted (though it lists -boxes first). The American Heritage College Dictionary likewise gives both options.

How well does this convention hold for other jack-in- or jack-of- terms? (slight pause for a brief "Beavis and Butthead" snigger by anyone who just mentally added -off to that list).

For example, do you grow jacks-in-the-pulpit or jack-in-the-pulpits in your bog garden? The results mirror those for jack-in-the-box. Webster's New World and Random House give the plural as -pulpits only. Third New International and American Heritage, however, say either jacks- or -pulpits is fine. (The flower, by the way, got its name from its shape; a spike of flowers -- the "jack," perhaps a colloquial term for a country parson -- is surrounded and overtopped by a modified leaf that resembles the roofed pulpit found in some European churches.)

How about jack-of-all-trades, a fellow who dabbles in a bit of everything? Some dictionaries list this as a hyphenated word, but others don't. The concluding word is already plural, so not surprisingly, more than one is typically given as jacks-of-all-trades. There's also jack-o'-lantern, which is always pluralized by adding an s to the end.

But Jack doesn't get to have all the fun. Johnny does, too. Unless he's a Johnny-come-lately, a newcomer or person who arrives or gets on board late. The plural of this term is given variously as Johnnies-come-lately or Johnny-come-latelies. But more than one Johnny-on-the-spot, a person available and ready to seize an opportunity, would be a passel of Johnnies-on-the-spot. A bouquet of the small form of pansy called Johnny-jump-up is a cluster of Johnny-jump-ups.

The upshot? Pluralization of such terms seems pretty arbitrary despite efforts of the lexical attorneys general -- i.e., the dictionaries -- to arbitrate such matters.