jarndyce v
Preserved but no longer current.
Jarndyce (jam disO- An inter- minable Chancery suit, in Bleak House. Dickens probably founded his story on the long drawn-out Chancery suit of Jennens v. Jennens, which related to property in Nacton, Suffolk, belonging to an intestate miser who died in 1798. The case was only finally con- cluded more than eighty years after its start.
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 “jarndyce v” mean?
Jarndyce (jam disO- An inter- minable Chancery suit, in Bleak House. Dickens probably founded his story on the long drawn-out Chancery suit of Jennens v. Jennens, which related to property in Nacton, Suffolk, belonging to an intestate miser who died in 1798. The case was only finally con- cluded more than eighty years after its start.
Is “jarndyce v” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.