Brian Lehrer's WNYC show has just revealed to me the definition of the word, 'jaywalk.' Up until a moment ago, I thought it referred to the letter 'j', which in my mind was superimposed across a roadway to show an unauthorized path across.
Not so. It is a word of midwestern origin, which defines a rural person, a 'jay', who is unfamiliar with city ways. (Remember the song in 'Oklahoma,' about 'Everything's up to date in Kansas City'? Written, no doubt, from a jay's point of view.)
And just for added fun, it appears that illegal jaywalking is almost uniquely an American concept; the practice is virtually unknown outside USA confines, Singapore, being a notable exception (photo of a sign prohibiting jaywalking in Singapore's Orchard Road.)
Just leting ya know I'm still reading, Dad.
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As evidence of the proper use of "jay", consider my recent weekend foray to the quaint, pc college towns of Northampton and Amherst in western Massachusetts. People there walk to intersections to cross even when there is no traffic. They also wait for the green handsigns lights before venturing into a crosswalk at 1 am in the morning, when the sidewalks are rolled up and all the cars or snoozing in their garages. Jaywalking brings on a notable craning of necks, whispering (must be a New Yawker) and clucking. These people would get trampled in the Big Apple.
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