jam¹ / jam/ • v. (jammed , jam·ming ) 1. [tr.] squeeze or pack (someone or something) tightly into a specified space: four of us were jammed in one compartment people jammed their belongings into cars. ∎  push (something) roughly and forcibly into position or a space: he jammed his hat on. ∎  [tr.] crowd onto (a road) so as to block it: the roads were jammed with traffic. ∎  [tr.] cause (telephone lines) to be continuously busy with a large number of calls: listeners jammed WBOQ's switchboard with calls. ∎  [intr.] push or crowd into an area or space: 75,000 refugees jammed into a stadium today to denounce the accord. 2. become or make unable to move or work due to a part seizing or becoming stuck: [intr.] the photocopier jammed | [tr.] the doors were jammed open. ∎  [tr.] make (a radio transmission) unintelligible by causing interference. 3. [intr.] inf. improvise with other musicians, esp. in jazz or blues: the opportunity to jam with Atlanta blues musicians.• n. 1. an instance of a machine or thing seizing or becoming stuck: paper jams. ∎ inf. an awkward situation or predicament: I'm in a jam. ∎ short for traffic jam. ∎  Climbing a handhold obtained by stuffing a part of the body such as a hand or foot into a crack in the rock. 2. (also jam ses·sion) an informal gathering of musicians improvising together, esp. in jazz or blues.PHRASES: jam on the brakes operate the brakes of a vehicle suddenly and forcibly, typically in an emergency.jam² • n. a sweet spread or preserve made from fruit and sugar boiled to a thick consistency.

jel·ly / ˈjelē/ • n. (pl. -lies) a sweet, clear, semisolid, somewhat elastic spread or preserve made from fruit juice and sugar boiled to a thick consistency. ∎  used figuratively and in similes to refer to sensations of fear or strong emotion: her legs felt like jelly. ∎  a similar clear preparation made with fruit or other ingredients as a condiment: roast pheasant with red currant jelly. ∎  a gelatinous savory preparation made by boiling meat and bones. ∎  any substance of a gelatinous consistency: spermicidal jellies | frogs lay eggs coated in jelly. ∎  chiefly Brit. a sweet, fruit-flavored gelatin dessert. ∎  (jellies) jelly shoes.• v. (-lies, -lied) [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (jellied) set (food) as or in a jelly: jellied cranberry sauce jellied eels.DERIVATIVES: jel·li·fi·ca·tion / ˌjeləfiˈkāshən/ n.jel·li·fy / ˈjeləˌfī/ v.jel·ly·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.

Jam ★ 2006

That's jam as in traffic, not food product, or Phish concert. Sitcom characters and situations abound as 15 weary souls are trapped in their cars after an accident on a mountain road. It's Father's Day—so everyone can exchange trite stories. A woman goes into labor (ah, that old chestnut!). There's a couple of bumbling crooks and even a kitchen sink ‘cause someone's driving a camper. 91m/C DVD . Jeffrey Dean Morgan, William Forsythe, Gina Torres, Amanda Detmer, Jonathan Silverman, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dan Byrd, David DeLuise, Elizabeth Bogush, Tess Harper, Alex Rocco, Christopher Amitrano, Christopher Amitrano, Julie Claire, Amanda Foreman; D: Craig Sterling; W: Craig Sterling, Nicole Lonner; C: Jeff Venditti; M: Andy Kubiszewski. VIDEO

jelly
1. Clear jam made from strained fruit juice by boiling with sugar. Also used in this sense in north America to mean any jam.

2. Table jelly is a dessert made from gelatine, sweetened and flavoured; known in north America as jello; patented in New York by Peter Cooper (1842) as a coloured fruit flavoured gelatine powder for desserts; Jell‐O first marketed by Pearl B. Wait of LeRoy, NY, in 1897.

3. Aspic is a savoury jelly made from gelatinous stock.

jam jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today used to express resignation or regret for opportunity failing to present itself; this proverbial saying derives from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1872), ‘The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today.’ In the 1960s, this was reworked by the Labour politician Tony Benn (1925– ), ‘Some of the jam we thought was for tomorrow, we've already eaten.’

See also money for jam.