jojo

Reportedly coined on the spot by an employee of the Flavor-Crisp pressure fryer company at a Chicago trade show in the early 1960s. The potatoes were used to "clean the grease" between demonstrations of cooking chicken and fish, but customers unexpectedly started eating and enjoying them, leading someone to inquire what they were called.^[1][2]

jojo (plural jojos)

1. (Ohio, Northwestern US, British Columbia, chiefly in the plural) A seasoned, battered and fried potato wedge.
   • 2002, Karl Samson, Jane Aukshunas, Frommer's Washington State, page 288:

     If you're really hungry, be sure to try the wood-fired jojos (potato wedges).

   • 2011, Marissa Guggiana, Off the Menu: Staff Meals from America's Top Restaurants, page 223:

     The cheesy jojos threaten to colonize every inch of my appetite but I hold back by only eating them once I am nearly full.

   • 2023, Andrea Damewood, "George's Corner Tavern", Willamette Week (Willamette, OR), 20 September 2023, page 11:

     And perhaps George's best (un)kept secret is its fried chicken and jojos, which give Reel M Inn a run for its money.

• IPA^(key): [ˈjojo]

jojo n

1. yo-yo

• “jojo”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “jojo”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “jojo”, in Akademický slovník současné češtiny, 2012–2025, slovnikcestiny.cz

From English yo-yo.

• IPA^(key): /ˈjojo/, [ˈjo̞jo̞]
• Rhymes: -ojo
• Syllabification^(key): jo‧jo
• Hyphenation^(key): jo‧jo

jojo

1. yo-yo

• “jojo”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

Colloquial contraction of joli.

• IPA^(key): /ʒo.ʒo/

• Audio:

  (file)

jojo (plural jojos)

1. (colloquial) cool, nice, good

   Ce n'est pas jojo, ça! ― That's not good!

jojo

1. Rōmaji transcription of じょじょ

jojo

1. third-person singular past of joti
2. third-person plural past of joti

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [tʲoːzʲo], (enunciated) [tʲo tʲo]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /tʲewtʲew/
• Bender phonemes: {jȩwjȩw}

jojo (construct form jojoin)

1. a chick

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [tʲɔːzʲɔ], (enunciated) [tʲɔ tʲɔ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /tʲɛwtʲɛw/
• Bender phonemes: {jewjew}

jojo (construct form jojoin)

1. a flying fish

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

From English yo-yo.

jojo m (definite singular jojoen, indefinite plural jojoer, definite plural jojoene)

1. a yo-yo

From jo (“yes”), literally "yes-yes".

jojo

1. An exclamation of disagreement or strongly reluctant agreement, often followed by a men (“but”) and a counterargument if the latter.

• jo
• jaja
• joda

• “jojo” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• yoyo

From English yo-yo.

jojo m (definite singular jojoen, indefinite plural jojoar, definite plural jojoane)

1. a yo-yo

• “jojo” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Borrowed from English yo-yo.

• IPA^(key): /ˈjɔ.jɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔjɔ
• Syllabification: jo‧jo

jojo n (indeclinable)

1. (colloquial) alternative spelling of jo-jo

• jojo in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• jojo in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Most likely from Ilocano yóyo.

jojo n (genitive singular joja, nominative plural joja, jojá, genitive plural jojí, declension pattern of mesto)

1. yo-yo

• “jojo”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Reduplication of jo.

jojo

1. Expresses irony or schadenfreude.

   Jojo, så går det när man vägrar planera i förväg

   Yup, that's what happens when you refuse to plan ahead

2. Expresses that one (contrary to what the other person thinks) agrees (but has other objections).

   Jojo, jag tror faktiskt maskinen skulle fungera utmärkt, men den är onödig även om den fungerar

   I agree. I actually think the machine would work great. But it's unnecessary even if it works.

3. Expresses slight bewilderment at learning something.

   Jojo, det kunde man inte tro om honom

   I see, would never have guessed that about him

• jaja

From English yo-yo.

• IPA^(key): /ˈjʊˌjʊ/

jojo c

1. a yo-yo

• trissa

• jojo in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• jojo in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• jojo in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• IPA^(key): [ˈd͡ʒod͡ʒo]

jojo

1. uncle, aunt (younger sibling of a parent)

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh, page 24