Post by z - El Guapo - retired on Oct 13, 2015 13:20:02 GMT -5
Had to look it up. Never heard the expression before. Came across this, which is representative of several similar hits we found. Guess Scott was saying we had a craving for some action in this league.
But, really, we just want some sign that the league is still running - signs of life. Threads could be opened to discuss rules changes. There is no claiming or bidding, but trading might start up if owners thought there was actually a league in place. Baseball chatter. Anything...
How Did "Jones" Come to Mean "Craving"?
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Kara Kovalchik
filed under: Big Questions, Origins, etymology, language
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Have you ever had a "Love Jones," or even a "Basketball Jones"? Do you occasionally jones for a “hot now” Krispy Kreme donut (only to find that store closed)? Did you know that when you use that terminology you are actually indulging in some (gasp) drug slang?
In the early 1960s, a “jones” was a craving, all right, but strictly a craving for heroin. Clever junkies had been using “Mr. Jones” as a code name for the drug since it became popular with Beatniks in the late 1950s. “I’m looking for Mr. Jones” was a subtle way to score when you were new in town and didn’t yet have a regular dealer. The term evolved in the next few years so that eventually when an addict was alternately sweating and shivering while in need of a fix, he was described as “jonesing.” In the early 1970s, “jones” had expanded to describe any sort of severe longing or craving, whether for food or a relationship or a shiny new sports car.
This isn’t the first time narcotics addiction terminology has entered our everyday jargon; the word “yen” (as in “She has a real yen for men”) started out as a corruption of the 1920s-era Cantonese phrase “yin-yan,” or “opium craving.”
But, really, we just want some sign that the league is still running - signs of life. Threads could be opened to discuss rules changes. There is no claiming or bidding, but trading might start up if owners thought there was actually a league in place. Baseball chatter. Anything...
How Did "Jones" Come to Mean "Craving"?
137 Share submit to reddit
Kara Kovalchik
filed under: Big Questions, Origins, etymology, language
Image credit:
ThinkStock
Like us on Facebook
Have you ever had a "Love Jones," or even a "Basketball Jones"? Do you occasionally jones for a “hot now” Krispy Kreme donut (only to find that store closed)? Did you know that when you use that terminology you are actually indulging in some (gasp) drug slang?
In the early 1960s, a “jones” was a craving, all right, but strictly a craving for heroin. Clever junkies had been using “Mr. Jones” as a code name for the drug since it became popular with Beatniks in the late 1950s. “I’m looking for Mr. Jones” was a subtle way to score when you were new in town and didn’t yet have a regular dealer. The term evolved in the next few years so that eventually when an addict was alternately sweating and shivering while in need of a fix, he was described as “jonesing.” In the early 1970s, “jones” had expanded to describe any sort of severe longing or craving, whether for food or a relationship or a shiny new sports car.
This isn’t the first time narcotics addiction terminology has entered our everyday jargon; the word “yen” (as in “She has a real yen for men”) started out as a corruption of the 1920s-era Cantonese phrase “yin-yan,” or “opium craving.”
