Jack-shit

Origin of: Jack-shit

Jack-shit

If someone knows jack, or knows shit, they know nothing, but if they know jack-shit, they well and truly know nothing at all. It is American slang dating from the late 1960s. For centuries, Jack has been a name for the average man, but also a diminutive for things of smaller than average size. So it is quite understandable to find it used here to describe a paucity of knowledge.