DCHP-1 Online
whisky-jack alteration of whisky john, q.v. 
0 n. a gray, crestless jay, Perisoreus canadensis.
See also: Canada jay
- 1743 (1949) a white Whisker jack or a Jay Like [bird] wap pis ka John or wap pa whisker John.
- 1795 (1911) The . . . Whisky-Jack . . . is very familiar, and . . . so much given to pilfering, that no kind of provisions it can come at, either fresh or salt, is safe from its depredations.
- 1888 (1890) They are called by the men Whisky-Jacks . . . they are pretty birds about the size of a jay and of a bluish-grey colour.
- 1965 They. . . [Indian trappers] had lived on Canada jays, commonly known as whiskey jacks.
- 1743 (1949) a white Whisker jack or a Jay Like [bird] wap pis ka John or wap pa whisker John.
2 n. Obs. a person trading or selling whisky, especially as an illicit business, to the Indians.
See also: whisky trader
- 1907 (1908) "There'll be heaps uh fun in the Cypress Hills country when they [the N W M P] get t' runnin' the whisky-jacks out."
- 1907 (1908) "There'll be heaps uh fun in the Cypress Hills country when they [the N W M P] get t' runnin' the whisky-jacks out."