herky-jerky

[ hur-kee-jur-kee ]

adjective

1. progressing in a fitfully jerky or irregular manner:

   He hadn’t used a gearshift in years, so the ride home was a bit herky-jerky.

Word History and Origins

Origin of herky-jerky¹

First recorded in 1955–60; rhyming compound based on jerk ¹, -y ¹

Example Sentences

He suggested that “ugly women… I mean feminists” won’t want to hear this, but that candidates need to win over swing states by “making a farmer feel like he’s got a shot. Burr moved on to Trump, mocking his herky-jerky moves, which he said might have thwarted an assassination attempt, and chiding him for his appearance at a McDonald’s. “That’s the only time I’ve ever seen that guy truly happy,” Burr said.

From Los Angeles Times

One string of scenes that follows Mel’s hospital stay physicalizes the sensation of being on prescription painkillers by showing her and her co-stars break into choreographed body rolls and herky-jerky movements during normal conversations – a creative way of capturing the experience of being cognizant but not all there while mightily striving to maintain the appearance of being fine.

From Salon

Unlike running or my herky-jerky stints on the Nordic Machine strider in the basement, there was no specter of calories.

From Salon

The herky-jerky ride further damaged the bones, but the specimen was intact enough that the scientists felt comfortable formally classifying it.

From Science Magazine

The problem is that while it played to sold-out crowds, the show that premiered at the Public Theater in November had herky-jerky pacing, a few too many groan-inducing scenes, and a second act that lost sight of whatever point the story was trying to make.

From New York Times

Related Words

• desultory
• intermittent
• periodic
• spotty