Before you can say Jack Robinson

Origin of: Before you can say Jack Robinson

Before you can say Jack Robinson

This rather long-winded way of saying very quickly or with great speed dates from 1778 when it first appeared in the romantic novel Evelina by Frances D’Arblay (née Burney), “I’d do it as soon as say Jack Robinson.” Unfortunately, no one knows for sure if there ever was a real Jack Robinson who might have been synonymous with alacrity or speed. Jack Robinson could simply be a fictitious character like Jack Frost or Jack the giant killer. There are two unsubstantiated theories about the origin. The first is a connection to Sir John Robinson, Constable of the Tower of London from 1660. The one hundred year gap, however, between Sir John and the first appearance of the expression in print in 1778 makes this doubtful. The second appears in the 1811 edition of Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose in which he maintains there was a real Jack Robinson who, when visiting his neighbours, would invariably leave before his name could be announced. In other words, before you could say, “Jack Robinson”, Mr Robinson had already taken his leave. Grose offers no explanation for such odd behaviour nor any further clues as to the identity of this Jack Robinson. Nor do any other sources confirm the existence of such a person. The origin of the expression therefore remains a mystery.