Jack the Ripper
Preserved but no longer current.
An unknown person who committed a series of murders on prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888-89. He gave himself the name, and the mystery surrounding his crimes made it very widely known.
Một người lạ mặt đã thực hiện một loạt vụ giết người đối với gái mại dâm ở Đông London vào 1888-89
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Jack the Ripper” mean?
An unknown person who committed a series of murders on prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888-89. He gave himself the name, and the mystery surrounding his crimes made it very widely known.
Is “Jack the Ripper” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.