bill/sables mention above that the expression appears in the game of bowls (Hope I said that properly). It also appears in Boccia.

The editors of The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary have this to say:



Could you please tell me what it means to "ball the jack''? I've heard it used in a couple of songs. Does it have anything to do with truck driving? Where did the phrase originate?

— D.F., Lakeview, Ore.

Dear D.F.:

We are certain that many a trucker does "ball the jack'' down the highway, for the phrase means simply "to go fast.'' Although one source claims it derives from an identical logging expression, its probable origin is from railroad terminology, in which the expression means "to gain speed.''

"Ball'' is probably a shortened version of "highball,'' which is the railroad term for a signal to the engineer that he may proceed at full speed, and is also used for a fast train. The term "highball'' developed from an early railroad practice in which the go-ahead signal given to an engineer was the raising of a metal ball to the top of a pole. The verb "highball,'' meaning "to go at full speed,'' also developed from this practice.

"Jack'' is railroad slang for "locomotive.'' The origin of this term is uncertain, but it may be related to other kinds of machinery that are called "jacks'' or that have names in which another word is combined with "jack,'' such as "jackshaft.'' To a railroader, then, "ball the jack'' means "to bring a locomotive to full speed.''

The expression also caught on outside of railroading circles, and is used generically to mean "to move fast'' or "to hurry.'' It is certainly used in connection with truckers, but it can also describe a person moving at high speed. For example, we have in our file this description of the sluggishness of a Missouri farm worker: "As one farmer unfortunate enough to depend on Ed's exertions during the haying season summed it up, `Ol' Ed ain't much for ballin' the jack, but he wouldn't be a bad worker, only he gets kinda fidgety in the middle of the week lookin' for Sunday to sneak up on him in both directions.'''