English Idioms - letter J

Idiom	Definition	Usage
jack-of-all-trades	someone who can do many things	That guy is a jack-of-all-trades.
jack up	increase	Stores typically jack up prices during the holidays.
jam on the brakes	stop the car suddenly	Because of the cow on the road she had to jam on the brakes.
jam-packed	crowded	This club is really popular and always jam-packed.
jazz up	brighten up	We need to jazz up this boring room.
jerking someone around	causing me trouble	Recently it seems like everyone is jerking me around.
jockeying for position	maneuvering to get an advantage	The candidates for the presidency were jockeying for position.
John Doe	unknown person	Another John Doe was driving while intoxicated.
John Hancock	signature	Please put your John Hancock on the application form.
John Henry	signature	Please put your John Henry on the application form.
Johnny-come-lately	newcomer	He is a Johnny-come-lately at this company.
Johnny-on-the-spot	in the right place at the right time	He always seems to be Johnny-on-the-spot.
jump all over someone	scold me	For no reason, he began to jump all over me.
jump at	quickly accept	She knew that he would jump at the chance to go to Japan.
jump down one's throat	yell at him	She began to jump down his throat over being late.
jump on someone	scold	The boss would jump on him for even a small mistake.
jump on the bandwagon	join in	Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon now that the Internet site is a success.
jump out of one's skin	be badly frightened	She looked as if she would jump out of her skin while she was watching the horror movie.
jump the gun	act too soon	He decided to jump the gun and ordered to many tickets.
jump through a hoop	obey any order	He is always ready to jump through a hoop for his boss.
jump to conclusions	make quick conclusions	You should not jump to conclusions until you know all the facts.
jumping-off place	starting point	We gathered at the jumping-off place for our trip to the mountains.
just about	nearly	I waited just about one hour for her to come.
just now	this very moment	The movie began just now.
just off the boat	naive	He acts like he is just off the boat.
just so	close to perfect	She always makes sure that her hair is just so before she goes out.
just the same	nevertheless	I told her not to come early but just the same she came early anyway.
just what the doctor ordered	exactly what was needed	The extra day off from work was just what the doctor ordered.