Jerkum means: A lost British dialect drink - a rough cider brewed with plums thrown into the mix, made in the West Country and drunk by farm labourers who wanted something stronger than plain apple cider. It was. It has drug-related associations; worth a calm conversation about which side of the topic your teen is on. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
jerkum
A lost British dialect drink — a rough cider brewed with plums thrown into the mix, made in the West Country and drunk by farm labourers who wanted something stronger than plain apple cider.
Definitions
UK
#1·Apr 28, 2026UK
A lost British dialect drink — a rough cider brewed with plums thrown into the mix, made in the West Country and drunk by farm labourers who wanted something stronger than plain apple cider. It was the kind of thing knocked back at harvest time with no questions asked about the recipe. The word captures a whole world of rural British booze culture that's mostly vanished.
They passed the jug of jerkum around the barn and nobody asked what exactly was floating in it.
Origin: Editorial expansion authored on Slangora (model-assisted, hedged).
For parents
Jerkum means: A lost British dialect drink - a rough cider brewed with plums thrown into the mix, made in the West Country and drunk by farm labourers who wanted something stronger than plain apple cider. It was. It has drug-related associations; worth a calm conversation about which side of the topic your teen is on. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
jerkum means: A lost British dialect drink - a rough cider brewed with plums thrown into the mix, made in the West Country and drunk by farm labourers who wanted something stronger than plain. Register: very informal, often derogatory or vulgar. Avoid in formal, business, academic, or polite writing. Even in casual speech the word can offend and is best left out of a learner's active vocabulary. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
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UK
#2·Apr 27, 2026UK
(UK, dialect) A kind of cider made with plums.
Cluster: general
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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UK
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "jerkum" (J)
jerk itjerkojerk offjerkoffjerk overjerk the gherkinjerk upjerkwadjerk waterjerkwaterjerkwater townJerome
Browse all slang words starting with J.
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