# Jet: To leave suddenly, year of first use **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 28, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207 "2023-08-28T01:37:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/1 "2023-08-28T01:37:20Z")
We’re watching _To Have And Have Not_ (1944). Humphrey Bogart’s character says, ‘How to you know I won’t do a jet?’ Clearly, he’s asking how the person knows he won’t ‘take the money and run’. Jet aircraft were very new in 1944. When was ‘jet’ first used to mean ‘leave suddenly’? 1. Does the slang refer to jet aircraft? Or; 2. Does it somehow relate to a jet of flame or some other thing? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/2 "2023-08-28T01:56:12Z")
I’m more interested in [how to whistle.](https://youtu.be/i9Ay727EYzw?t=166) Perhaps the sexiest line ever in a movie. Do jets whistle? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/3 "2023-08-28T01:57:15Z")
Before the term ‘jet’ referred to jet aircraft, it seems it was used “to sprout or spurt forth, shoot out”. [Online Etymology dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/jet#:~:text=jet%20(n.1),%22%20(early%2014c.).) says that use dates back to the late 17th century and is derived from the french ‘jeter’, or ‘to throw’. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/4 "2023-08-28T02:07:45Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Before the term ‘jet’ referred to jet aircraft, it seems it was used “to sprout or spurt forth, shoot out”. It’s interesting that ‘jet’, as used in the film, would survive from the 17th Century. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/5 "2023-08-28T02:10:44Z")
Did _jettison_ come before or after jet aircraft? Or is it completely different etymology? ETA…I just looked it up. “To throw overboard” I completely thought Bogarts character meant “to leave” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/6 "2023-08-28T02:16:18Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Did _jettison_ come before or after jet aircraft? It came from ships, at least back to the 15th century. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/7 "2023-08-28T02:31:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > It’s interesting that ‘jet’, as used in the film, would survive from the 17th Century. _Jet_ in the sense of a forceful extrusion of steam, of gas, of water, etc has been in continuous use from the seventeenth century; “jet engine” comes from this sense. I don’t know at what point Bogart’s idiom emerges, but it doesn’t come from a sense of the word that is in any way archaic. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/8 "2023-08-28T02:45:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > > Before the term ‘jet’ referred to jet aircraft, it seems it was used “to sprout or spurt forth, shoot out”. > > It’s interesting that ‘jet’, as used in the film, would survive from the 17th Century. You’ve never heard of a squid or octopus jetting? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/9 "2023-08-28T07:20:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (1944). Humphrey Bogart’s character says, ‘How to you know I won’t to a jet?’ Are you sure that’s what he says? “won’t to a jet” is weird grammar in modern English at least. Transcripts of the film have that line as “How do you know I won’t do it yet?” - which makes much more sense both in context and just as a coherent sentence. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/10 "2023-08-28T12:03:02Z")
I recall as a child flying to and from South America, and even in 1961 we still went by propeller passenger aircraft. (DC-6?) It was around then that jet aircraft started to replace propeller as typical passenger transport. I think in 1944 a jet was a rare novelty even in WWII fighter aircraft. (but typical by the Korean War 1950-53). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/11 "2023-08-28T13:12:55Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > Humphrey Bogart’s character says, ‘How to you know I won’t to a jet?’ > > Are you sure that’s what he says? “won’t to a jet” is weird grammar in modern English at least. Sorry, Typographical error. (They happen more often since my injury last year.) Bogarts says ‘How to you know I won’t **do** a jet?’ Maybe a mod can fix it in the OP? > [@Mangetout](#): > > Transcripts of the film have that line as “How do you know I won’t do it yet?” - which makes much more sense both in context and just as a coherent sentence. I’ve looked up [two](http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/maltese-falcon-script-transcript-huston.html) [sources](https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Maltese_Falcon.pdf), and I don’t see _either_ of our versions. (Searching on ‘how to you know’, ‘yet’, and ‘jet’.) But the context was that Bogart was asking how they knew he wouldn’t just take off. EDIT: But the dialogue _I heard_, whether I heard correctly or not, is just what prompted the question; the dialogue and the movie themselves are beside the point. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/12 "2023-08-28T13:33:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve looked up [two](http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/maltese-falcon-script-transcript-huston.html) [sources](https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Maltese_Falcon.pdf), and I don’t see _either_ of our versions. That’s a different film ! Your OP was about _To Have And Have Not_ [This](http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/t/to-have-and-have-not-script.html) site contains the following dialogue … > “You have done enough for us already.” > “Gerard told me of your refusing Renard’s offer to give us up.” > “How do you know I won’t do it yet?” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/13 "2023-08-28T13:36:27Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > That’s a different film ! Your OP was about _To Have And Have Not_ Aw, crap. I’d just gotten out of bed. I _knew_ I should have waited! Your dialogue looks reasonable, and I very well may have mis-heard. In any case, the FQ is when ‘jet’ was fist used to leave suddenly. The film and the dialogue are irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/14 "2023-08-28T13:46:23Z")
I have never heard it used that way at all… But then, i’m from the uk, so…! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/15 "2023-08-28T13:49:38Z")
It was fairly common in SoCal in the '80s. ‘I’m gonna jet.’ ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/16 "2023-08-28T14:44:42Z")
Just a cursory glance thru newspaper archives, I found the first reference in 1955, well after your date. “. . . once [Hollywood actors] have it made, a lot of them do a jet job of getting away from it all.” But presumably it would have been in somewhat common parlance some years before that. Edit: I found this exchange. Seems to agree with “do it yet.” Bogie did have a bit of a lisp. Gerard told me of your refusing Renard’s offer to give us up. How do you know I won’t do it yet? There are many things a man will do…but betrayal for a price is not one of yours. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/17 "2023-08-28T15:00:47Z")
It looks like it goes back at least as far as Shakespeare and the early 17th century. The gates of monarchs Are arch’d so high that giants may jet through And keep their impious turbans on without Good morrow to the sun. _Cymbeline_, III.iii ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/18 "2023-08-28T15:38:58Z")
Take a cold shower. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/19 "2023-08-28T15:54:43Z")
That’s about 40 years too late. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207/20 "2023-08-28T16:00:36Z")
Again, the movie is irrelevant. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jet-to-leave-suddenly-year-of-first-use/989207.md?page=2)