jury-rig

• jury rig

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/, /ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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From jury (“for temporary use, makeshift”, adjective) +‎ rig. Likely modelled after jury-mast.

The phrase 'jury-rigged' has been in use since at least 1788.^[1] The adjectival use of 'jury', in the sense of makeshift or temporary, has been said to date from at least 1616, when according to the 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, it appeared in John Smith's A Description of New England.^[1] It appeared in Smith's more extensive The General History of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles published in 1624.^[2]

jury-rig (third-person singular simple present jury-rigs, present participle jury-rigging, simple past and past participle jury-rigged)

1. (nautical, transitive) To build an improvised rigging or assembly from whichever materials are available.
2. (transitive) To create a makeshift, ad hoc solution from resources at hand.
   • 2025 May 22, Matteo Wong, “OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     Tech behemoths are jury-rigging AI features into their products to avoid being disrupted—but these rollouts, and Apple’s in particular, have been disastrous, giving dangerous health advice, butchering news summaries, and generally crowding and slowing user experiences.

• jerry-rig
• kludge out
• MacGyver
• nigger-rig (offensive)

• jury-rigged

• cobble together
• knock together

jury-rig (plural jury-rigs)

1. (nautical) An improvised rigging.

• MacGyver
• hack

See jury, rig.

jury-rig (third-person singular simple present jury-rigs, present participle jury-rigging, simple past and past participle jury-rigged)

1. (slang, transitive) To rig a jury; to engage in jury tampering, to improperly influence jurors, or the selection of jurors, such that they deliver a certain verdict.

• jury rigging