to make one's jack
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To be successful. The allusion is to the jack in games, such as bowls.
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 “to make one's jack” mean?
To be successful. The allusion is to the jack in games, such as bowls.
Is “to make one's jack” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.