# Where did the phrase "Jump his Bones" come from?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-phrase-jump-his-bones-come-from/148051>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 12, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-phrase-jump-his-bones-come-from/148051 "2003-01-12T01:09:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-phrase-jump-his-bones-come-from/148051/1 "2003-01-12T01:09:49Z")

</div>

Inquiring minds want to know.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-phrase-jump-his-bones-come-from/148051/2 "2003-01-12T01:58:54Z")

</div>

While Alan Lomax recorded a British folksong which mentioned jumping on someone’s bones, it was used in that case to indicated someone “stomping” on another.

The modern sex usage is first recorded in print in 1965, thusly in _Esquire_:

> [@](#):
>
> When you slept with a fgrl you ‘got into her panties’ while the prosperous teen-ager ‘jumped on her bones’.

As an aside, the term _boner_ to mean an errect penis only gets into print in 1966. Not trying to suggest any connection. Just interesting.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-phrase-jump-his-bones-come-from/148051/3 "2003-01-12T10:36:43Z")

</div>

thanx!