jake leg

noun

Paralysis of the feet and ankles caused by the consumption of TOCP (tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate) or methyl alcohol, found in adulterated moonshine or Jamaica ginger extract.

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Meanings

nounjake leg (uncountable)
  1. UShistoricalslanguncountable1930s and 40sParalysis of the feet and ankles caused by the consumption of TOCP (tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate) or methyl alcohol, found in adulterated moonshine or Jamaica ginger extract.

    Out-of-town patients came in droves for the treatment of [jake leg]. Jake leg was caused by drinking methyl (wood) alcohol rather than ethyl alcohol. There's a world of difference.

    2010 July 5, Janet Mace Valenza, Taking the Waters in Texas: Springs, Spas, and Fountains of Youth, University of Texas Press, →ISBN
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: jake leg on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.