Jersey girl
noun · first attested 20th century
The stereotype and the affectionate answer to it have been running against each other for forty years.
A woman from New Jersey, in stereotype loud, heavily made up and big-haired.
40.0000°N -74.5000°W · Q1408
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- 20th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
New Jersey
- In English
Jersey girl
The term is usually pejorative, on the model of Essex girl in Britain, and was reinforced by American television. Tom Waits wrote a song called Jersey Girl in 1980 and Bruce Springsteen's version made it a New Jersey anthem in the other direction. The state itself is named for the Channel Island of Jersey, granted to Sir George Carteret, who had held the island for the crown during the English Civil War.