An archaic West Indian term for trismus—an involuntary prolonged spasm of the jaw muscles (lockjaw) that is a classic symptom of tetanus.
An archaic West Indian term for trismus—an involuntary prolonged spasm of the jaw muscles (lockjaw) that is a classic symptom of tetanus. The descriptive name captures the visible dropping or locking of the jaw. In pre-vaccine tropical communities tetanus was common, and the condition could be fatal; the folk name reflects its prominence as a recognised disease of the region.
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(slang) To talk at length; to chatter or jabber.
(North America, slang) To talk or chatter; to jaw.
Jawblock is dated American slang for talking — specifically the kind of idle, extended talking that fills time without saying much. To jawblock was to chew the fat, to gas on, to fill the air with words. The jaw + block construction evokes the mechanical action of a jaw working like a block, grinding away. Rarely heard today but entertainingly vivid.
(US, _, slang, dated) To talk.
The surgeon feared jawfall had set in when the wounded man could no longer open his mouth to take broth.
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(archaic, West Indies) trismus.
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