Jack Sprat

noun

A small or skinny boy or man.

“John Redford, The Play of Wit & Science Heard you ever such a counsel of such a Jack sprat?”

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Meanings

nounJack Sprat (plural Jack Sprats)

plural Jack Sprats

  1. informalA small or skinny boy or man.

    John Redford, The Play of Wit & Science Heard you ever such a counsel of such a Jack sprat?

    1 more example

    The other van pulled up behind us, its super-skinny driver, a Jack Sprat to the large guy driving our van, grinning widely as he cut the engine.

    2009, Rupert Isaacson, The Horse Boy: A Father's Miraculous Journey to Heal His Son

Origin

The name of a character in an old poem, who would eat no fat.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Jack Sprat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jack%20Sprat

MLA

“Jack Sprat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jack%20Sprat. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jack Sprat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jack%20Sprat.

Source: Jack Sprat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.