Jack the Ripper en · PROPN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Etymology
September 1888, Jack + the + ripper, from the Dear Boss letter.
Meanings
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A supposed individual who was an unidentified 19th century serial killer in Whitechapel, London, England, UK; who has become part of folklore.
Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work. then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good luck. Yours truly Jack the Ripper Dont mind me giving the trade name
1888 September 25, Jack the Ripper, Dear Boss Letter, London, page 2:Nothing whatever has been discovered during the week to throw light upon the Whitechapel murders. The police entertain the belief, as we gather from the remarks of Mr. Crawford, the City Coroner, who is inquiring into the murder in Mitre Square, that they possess a fairly accurate description of the person of the murderer. He has, however, for the present, disappeared into space, unless it is he who writes certain letters signed "Jack the Ripper." The police think this is the case, and if so, he is an educated or partly educated man, of extreme audacity, intoxicated with the evil pride of crime, and resolute to commit more murders.
1888 October 13, “NEWS OF THE WEEK.”, in The Spectator, number 3,146, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1379, column 1:Two communications of an extraordinary nature, both signed "Jack the Ripper," have been received by the Central News Agency, the one on Thursday last and the other yesterday morning. The first - the original of which has been seen by Major Smith, the Assistant Commissioner of the City Police - was a letter, bearing the E.C. postmark, in which reference was made to the atrocious murders previously committed in the East-end, which the writer confessed, in a brutally jocular vein, to have committed; stating that in the "next job" he did he would "clip the lady's ears off" and send them to the police, and also asking that the letter might be kept back until he had done "a bit more work." The second communication was a postcard, and as above stated, it was received yesterday morning. It bore the date, "London, E., October 1," and was as follows: - "I was not codding, dear old Boss, when I gave you the tip. You'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work to-morrow. Double event this time. Number One squealed a bit; couldn't finish straight off. Had not time to get ears for police. Thanks for keeping the last letter back till I got to work again." The postcard was sent to Scotland Yard. No doubt is entertained that the writer of both communications, whoever he may be, is the same person.
1888 October 2, The Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 Aug 2004:Six weeks after Maxwell reported the sewage seepage this summer, an MDC inmate charged with robbing a bank said the toilet in his cell had been broken for three days. "I do not care if the defendant is Jack the Ripper, we treat people under our care with respect and decency," U.S. District Judge William Kuntz said in a July 27 hearing about the toilet, which a prosecutor said was fixed ahead of the hearing. "This is an ongoing disgrace."
2021 November 18, Luc Cohen, quoting William Kuntz, “Ghislaine Maxwell sex crimes trial highlights conditions at Brooklyn jail”, in Noeleen Walder, Aurora Ellis, editors, Reuters, archived from the original on 18 Nov 2021, United States:Many of the dead were never identified simply because whole families died together and there was no one left to say who they were. One woman, named Elizabeth Stride, claimed to have been one of the survivors of the sinking, although there was no proof of this. She would later go down in history as the third victim of Jack the Ripper.
2018 September 14, Derek Coleman, “Old superstition comes true with tragic consequences”, in AP News, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2023:
Deriveds
ripper · Ripperology · Ripperabilia · Ripper · Ripperologist · Rippermania
Synonyms
the Ripper · Whitechapel Fiend · Jack · Red Jack · Redjack
Translations (33)
is Kviðristu Kobbi (19th century murderer) · ja 切り裂きジャック (19th century murderer) · fi Viiltäjä-Jack (19th century murderer) · vi Jack Phanh Thây (19th century murderer) · ar جَاك اَلسَّفَّاح (19th century murderer) · ka ჯეკ მფატრავი (19th century murderer) · eu Jack Tripa-ateratzailea (19th century murderer) · mk Џек Ме́восек (19th century murderer) · az İçalatçı Cek (19th century murderer) · et Rappija Jack (19th century murderer) · pt Jack, o Estripador (19th century murderer) · pl Kuba Rozpruwacz (19th century murderer) · nrf Jacques l'Êbieilleux (19th century murderer) · ro Jack Spintecătorul (19th century murderer) · da Jack the Ripper (19th century murderer) · ga Seac an Réabthóir (19th century murderer) · de Jack der Aufschlitzer (19th century murderer) · ru Джек-Потроши́тель (19th century murderer) · eo Ĵakvo la Buĉisto (19th century murderer) · fr Jack l’Éventreur (19th century murderer) · it Jack lo squartatore (19th century murderer) · lv Džeks Uzšķērdējs (19th century murderer) · ca Jack l'Esbudellador (19th century murderer) · gd Seoc an Reubainnear (19th century murderer) · cs Jack Rozparovač (19th century murderer) · tr Karındeşen Jack (19th century murderer) · es Jack el Destripador (19th century murderer) · el Τζακ ο Αντεροβγάλτης (19th century murderer) · sh Jack Trbosjek (19th century murderer) · hu Hasfelmetsző Jack (19th century murderer) · nl Jack the Ripper (19th century murderer) · th แจ็กเดอะริปเปอร์ (19th century murderer) · cmn 開膛手傑克 /开膛手杰克 (19th century murderer)