S6E10 Jack the Knife

Welcome to Mysteries to Die For.I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you in the heart of a mystery. All stories are structured to challenge you to beat the detective to the solution. These are arrangements, which means instead of word-for-word readings, you get a performance meant to be heard. Jack and I perform these live, front to back, no breaks, no fakes, no retakes.For Season 6, Jack and I have again decided to go ad-free. I do this because I love mysteries, Jack does it because he loves me. Jack maybe a starving college student but it’s because… We do ask you support the writers of our show. This week it’s Chuck Brownman. Check him out, buy and read her stories, help other readers find him. Make writing for Mysteries to Die For the best decision he could have made. In your review, tell him Tina and Jack said ‘Bonjour’. This is Season 6, Things that Go Jack in the Night. This season contains truly imaginative mysteries around one of the most common words in the English language. From the brandy distilled from hard cider known as applejack to that nefarious one-eyed jack, to the animals, vegetables, fruits, tools, weapons, and slang, the way the word “jack” is used in the English language is truly unique, inventive, and too numerous for us to count. And yes, it is also the name of my piano player and producer. For Episode 10, a jackknife is the featured jack. This is Jack the Knife by Chuck BrownmanABOUT JackknifesA jackknife is a clasp knife, one where the blade folds into the handle and have been around since antiquity. The term jackknife dates to the mid seventeenth century and arose in the north of England or in Scotland. The question is where did the “jack” come from. According to Word Origins, the leading explanation is that it comes from a blend of “jack of the leg”. In the north of England and Scotland, the knives are known as “jocktelegs”. The jack is from the use of that word to denote a generic man, and the leg is thought to refer to the fact that the handles of such knives were often carved in shape a human leg. To this day, jambette (little leg) is used in French dialect to refer to a clasp knife.Alternate theory is that it comes from the name of a seventeenth-century Flemish maker of knives, Jacques de Liège. There is evidence of clasp knives bearing his or a similar name once existed. Jacques de Liège could easily become Jack the Leg in the mouths of non-French speakers.The earliest known appearance of a form of jackknife or jockteleg is in an inventory of the wares of the late merchant William Mackerrell of Newcastle upon Tyne from November 13, 1642https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/jackknifeABOUT Chuck BrownmanChuck Brownman has spent the last twenty-five-plus years working on becoming an “overnight writing sensation.” Concentrating on writing mystery / suspense short fiction, his work has been published in several anthologies, including the 2019 Eyes of Texas anthology (Down & Out Books), Volumes 4 and 5 of the annual Death Edge Tales anthology, and a Book-of-the-Month club anthology. He won the 2017 Arizona Mystery Writers Short Story Contest, and he was a finalist in the 2015 Criminal Element short fiction contest. His stories also appeared on the mysterynet.com site.In his “real life,” Chuck is a Houston-based corporate and energy attorney, advising and working for some of the country’s most entrepreneurial companies. He is also an adjunct professor of law, and has spoken at legal seminars for many years.WRAP UPThat wraps this episode of Mysteries to Die For. Please do support our show by subscribing, telling a mystery lover about us, and giving us a five-star review. Check out our website www.TGWolff.com/Podcast for links to this season’s authors. Mysteries to Die For is hosted by TG Wolff and Jack Wolff. Jack the Knife was written by Chuck Brownman. Music and production are by Jack Wolff. Episode art is by TG Wolff. Join us next week for a Toe Tag – that is the first chapter of a fresh release in the mystery, thriller, or crime genre. Then be back in two weeks for episode 11 The Crackpot’s Jackpot by TG Wolff.