Jack the Ripper

English

Etymology

September 1888, Jack +‎ the +‎ ripper, from the Dear Boss letter.

Proper noun

Jack the Ripper

1. A supposed individual who was an unidentified 19th century serial killer in England, who has become part of folklore.
   • 1888 September 25, Jack the Ripper, Dear Boss Letter, London, page 2:

     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 October 2, The Times‎^[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on August 10, 2004‎^[2]:

     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 13, “NEWS OF THE WEEK.”, in The Spectator, number 3,146, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1379, column 1:

     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.

   • 2018 September 14, Derek Coleman, “Old superstition comes true with tragic consequences”, in AP News‎^[3], archived from the original on December 03, 2023‎^[4]:

     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.

   • 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^[5], archived from the original on November 18, 2021, United States‎^[6]:

     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."

Translations

19th century murderer

• Arabic: جَاك اَلسَّفَّاح m (jak as-saffāḥ)
• Azerbaijani: İçalatçı Cek
• Basque: Jack Tripa-ateratzailea
• Catalan: Jack l'Esbudellador m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 開膛手傑克／开膛手杰克 (zh) (kāitángshǒu Jiékè)

• Czech: Jack Rozparovač m
• Danish: Jack the Ripper
• Dutch: Jack the Ripper m
• Esperanto: Ĵakvo la Buĉisto
• Estonian: Rappija Jack
• Finnish: Viiltäjä-Jack
• French: Jack l’Éventreur (fr) m
• Georgian: ჯეკ მფატრავი (ǯeḳ mpaṭravi)
• German: Jack der Aufschlitzer m
• Greek: Τζακ ο Αντεροβγάλτης m (Tzak o Anterovgáltis)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: Hasfelmetsző Jack
• Icelandic: Kviðristu Kobbi m
• Irish: Seac an Réabthóir m
• Italian: Jack lo squartatore m
• Japanese: 切り裂きジャック (kirisagi Jakku)
• Latvian: Džeks Uzšķērdējs m
• Macedonian: Џек Ме́восек m (Džek Mévosek)
• Norman: Jacques l'Êbieilleux m
• Polish: Kuba Rozpruwacz m
• Portuguese: Jack, o Estripador m
• Romanian: Jack Spintecătorul m
• Russian: Джек-Потроши́тель m (Džek-Potrošítelʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: Seoc an Reubainnear m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: Jack Trbosjek

• Spanish: Jack el Destripador m
• Thai: แจ็กเดอะริปเปอร์ (Jàek-dùh-rípper)
• Turkish: Karındeşen Jack
• Vietnamese: Jack Phanh Thây

Further reading

• “Jack the Ripper”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Jack the Ripper, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Jack the Ripper”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Jack the Ripper” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.