Why is crossing the street in the wrong place called "jaywalking"? Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.6 In the early 1900s, the word "jay" was slang in the U.S. for a hick, rube, or simpleton -- in other words, a person inexperienced in the ways of the bright lights in the big city. Wordsmiths believe the term "jaywalking" (or "J-walking") originated when cars were relatively new but gaining popularity in cities like Boston and New York. A jaywalker was a newcomer to the city, green to the ways of those modern traffic signals that told folks when they could safely cross the road. The complete Oxford English Dictionary traces the origin of the word to early 20th-century Boston, where sophisticated city folk with little tolerance for rural folk coined the term. In those days, jaywalkers would have encountered Model T's tooling along at the break-neck speed of 20 mph. Today's urban lawbreakers face greater risks, with sports cars, SUVs, ...
