Definition of "jerky" []

• Characterized by jerks or jerking: a jerky train ride. (adjective)
• Slang Foolish; silly: jerky ideas about saving money. (adjective)
• Meat cured by jerking. Also called charqui. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The word "jerky" is believed to have come from the Spanish word charque which means roughly "dried meat.""
• "If the Fed engaged in "jerky" monetary policy in order to generate unanticipated inflation, then it might have some short term impact on real wages, but there would have to be a permanent monetary illusion to have lasting effect."
• "Most storebought jerky is dry and leathery because it is salt cured, chemically preserved, smoked or treated with liquid smoke, and processed to meet USDA standards for storage at room temp."