When you want to say that someone doesn't know anything about a particular thing, do you say they don't know jack about it, or that they know jack about it?
I've seen it used both ways. Which is correct?
asked Feb 11, 2018 at 4:27
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See Flaubert triggers, squatitive negation, and other quirks of grammar (Laurence R. Horn 2001)– tchrist ♦Commented Feb 11, 2018 at 4:40
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Related: The meaning of a phrase that has one of four-letter words– herissonCommented Feb 11, 2018 at 5:24
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1Related: english.stackexchange.com/questions/20437/origin-of-jack-sht– user 66974Commented Feb 11, 2018 at 6:47
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"Jack" is a redacted version of "jack shit".– Hot LicksCommented Feb 11, 2018 at 15:19
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This particular one is on the list of Squatitives produced by Haj Ross and Paul Postal.– John LawlerCommented Dec 29, 2020 at 18:23
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1 Answer
That this and similar slang expressions set up the apparent paradox of x = not x has a particular fascination for linguists. The logic, however, is easy to grasp.
If jack is a quantity of absolutely no value, i. e. zero, then the difference between
He knows zero.
and
He doesn't know zero.
is basically zero.
Both expressions are "correct" in the descriptive sense that native speakers use both.
