A warke is ys as easie to be doone
As ’tys to saye, Jacke! robys on,
Archaic Dictionary.
Jack Sprat, of nursery rhymes.
Jack Sprat could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean?
And so betwixt ’em both,
They licked the platter clean.
Jack the Giant-Killer, a series of nursery tales to show the mastery of skill and wit over brute strength. Jack encounters various giants, but outwits them all. The following would illustrate the sort of combat: Suppose they came to a thick iron door, the giant would belabor it with his club hour after hour without effect; but Jack would apply a delicate key, and the door would open at once. This is not one of the stories, but will serve to illustrate the sundry contests. Jack was a “valiant Cornishman,” and his first exploit was to kill the giant Cormoran, by digging a deep pit, which he filmed over with grass, etc. The giant fell into the pit, and Jack knocked him on the head with a hatchet. Jack afterwards obtained a coat of invisibility, a cap of knowledge, a resistless sword, and shoes of swiftness; and, thus armed, he almost rid Wales of its giants.
Jack-with-a-Lantern. This meteoric phenomenon, when seen on the ground or a little above it, is called by sundry names, as Brenning-drake, Burning candle, Corpse candles, Dank Will, Death-fires, Dick-a-Tuesday, Elf-fire, the Fair maid of Ireland, Friar’s lantern, Gillion-a-burnt-tail, Gyl Burnt-tail, Ignis fatuus, Jack-o’-lantern, Jack-with-a-lantern, Kit-o’-the-canstick, Kitty-wi’-a-wisp, Mad Crisp, Peg-a-lantern, Puck, Robin Goodfellow, Shot stars, Spittle of the stars, Star jelly, a Sylham lamp, a Walking fire, Wandering fires, Wandering wild-fire, Will-with-a-wisp.