# Sidle Jinks



## Oleg68

From the Smokie's song:

From the day I was born 
Sidle Jinks was my name 
Though I tried and I tried 
This name still remains

Who is Sidle Jinks?


----------



## JamesM

Apparently it's the name of the character in the song.  I don't know of any other association with Sidle Jinks.


----------



## GreenWhiteBlue

It appears to be the name of the character singing the song, doesn't it?


----------



## Oleg68

I was thinking maybe it from English literature


----------



## ewie

_Sidle_ is a word that suggets furtiveness; _jinks_ is another word that suggests mischievous fun.


----------



## Myridon

The lyrics sites get their data from anonymous transcribers who often make a lot of mistakes.  The lyrics sites also copy from each other, i.e. someone posts a mistake on one site and soon there are twenty sites with the mistake on it.  
While many lyrics sites have "Sidle Jinks" in this song, others have "Title Jinx" (jinx in the sense of a curse or bad luck fits the lyrics a little better).  My guess would be that both are wrong.


----------



## Oleg68

I thinked it's the name of the loser. Yes, bad luck fits the lyrics better
I thank you all!


----------



## Packard

ewie said:


> _Sidle_ is a word that suggests furtiveness; _jinks_ is another word that suggests mischievous fun.



Sidle also means to move laterally.

Jinks also means to move abruptly.

Together is sounds like a boxer with good foot work avoiding a punch.


----------



## ewie

Packard said:


> Jinks also means to move abruptly.


That's a new one on me, Mr.P


----------



## Packard

ewie said:


> That's a new one on me, Mr.P



http://www.thefreedictionary.com/jinks

To make a quick, evasive turn: _"He jinked every five seconds, and now brought his tank left again"_ _(Tom Clancy)._


----------



## JamesM

Have you ever heard it used that way, Packard?  I certainly haven't.


----------



## Packard

JamesM said:


> Have you ever heard it used that way, Packard? I certainly haven't.



I've come across it a couple of times in war novels, specifically about tank maneuvers.  Perhaps it is a military term?


----------



## Packard

A quick Google search found this: http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/Jinkout Maneuver

*Jinkout Maneuver
*Unpredictable maneuvers to negate a gun tracking solution. A series of changes in roll, pitch, and G performed to prevent an attacker from achieving a gun tracking solution. This maneuver will not be effective against missiles.


----------



## mr cat

ewie said:


> That's a new one on me, Mr.P


Jinks (more often jinking) is often used in football - as in ''a jinking run'', at least here in the NE and Scotland, and describes moving abrubtly from one side to another. Jimmy Johnstone the famous Celtic winger was nicknamed Jinky.


----------



## Oleg68

Yes, there should be "title jinx". I've translated this song five years ago 
But anyway thank you, baton!


----------



## baton

Oleg68 said:


> Yes, there should be "title jinx". I've translated this song five years ago
> But anyway thank you, baton!


Np, great!


----------



## Egmont

I've read "jink," in the sense of making a quick, evasive turn, used with reference to both tanks and airplanes. In both cases the purpose is to throw off the aim of an enemy who was shooting at them.


----------



## Oleg68

Egmont said:


> I've read "jink," in the sense of making a quick, evasive turn, used with reference to both tanks and airplanes. In both cases the purpose is to throw off the aim of an enemy who was shooting at them.



There is jinx, no jink


----------



## aavikko

Oleg68 said:


> Yes, there should be "title jinx". I've translated this song five years ago
> But anyway thank you, baton!


Jinx right. On the official Smokie channel is Jinx. But why Title? Alan sings Sidle Jinx. 
What are the arguments for Title?


----------



## Oleg68

aavikko said:


> Jinx right. On the official Smokie channel is Jinx. But why Title? Alan sings Sidle Jinx.
> What are the arguments for Title?



Maybe. What is Sidle?


----------



## sdgraham

Oleg68 said:


> Maybe. What is Sidle?


I cannot improve on the multiple answers you received nearly eight years ago.
Sorry


----------



## Oleg68

I hear "sidle". I guess it is his name (this is a song) because he acts in an uncertain manner.
Jinx is a person who is believed to bring bad luck. My name is Sidle Jinx


----------



## aavikko

Oleg68 said:


> Maybe. What is Sidle?


I'm not sure. maybe the answer is here


----------



## sdgraham

aavikko said:


> I'm not sure. maybe the answer is here


You might note that that verb definition was offered in post #8. 
Welcome to the forum.


----------



## SergeyRys

I think the correct words in the song are 'Title Jinks', not 'Sidle Jinks'.


----------



## london calling

I've just listened to the track . It sounds like 'Sidle Jinks/Jinx' to me . No idea what it means...

A 1970's band from Yorkshire. The only song I remember by them is 'Living next door to Alice'.


----------



## SergeyRys

Lyrics in the net contain a lot of mistakes. For example, in the same song, they sing 'lock and key inside me, not 'locking key...' In the case of sidle/title, I think title sounds like sidle (though it's title just the same) because of a musical note at this very moment of the song which distorts the word.


----------



## london calling

He definitely doesn't sing the word  'title'.


----------



## SergeyRys

I still think he does. What does the expression title jinks mean in English? I also excuse: he sings not 'lock and key inside me' but 'lock and key inside you' (meaning Lord, probably). This brilliant group is also known for such hits as Don't play your rock'n' roll to me, Wild wild angels, and many others.


----------



## london calling

_Title Jinks_ means nothing, just as _Sidle Jinks _doesn't. I am a native speaker, by the way.


----------



## SergeyRys

And what about 'title jinX'? In the song he is saying that he is such a bad and unlucky person and that he wants to start again from the beginning.


----------



## SergeyRys

Among the forumers there is another voice for 'title jinx'! See above.


----------



## PaulQ

SergeyRys said:


> What does the expression title jinks mean in English?


"title jinks" is not an "expression" and it means absolutely nothing.

You will notice Sidle Jinks is said to be the person's name - we can see that it has been capitalised. Western names used to have meanings 600 years ago, but after that, they were just names.


Oleg68 said:


> Sidle Jinks was my name
> 
> Who is Sidle Jinks?





JamesM said:


> Apparently it's the name of the character in the song.  I don't know of any other association with Sidle Jinks.





Oleg68 said:


> I was thinking maybe it from English literature


It isn't.

It's a name.


----------



## SergeyRys

A name in the song ought to be meaningful. What's the use to choose a name (Sidle Jinks) that has no meaning? It's sheer nonsense. Or do you think that Alan Silson was really called that name in his childhood and the name stuck to him?


----------



## SergeyRys

To be strict, it's not a name but a nickname.


----------



## heypresto

SergeyRys said:


> A name in the song ought to be meaningful.


Why?



SergeyRys said:


> It's sheer nonsense.


It might well be.



SergeyRys said:


> Or do you think that Alan Silson was really called that name in his childhood and the name stuck to him?



Maybe you could contact Alan Silson's current booking agents and ask them to ask him where the name came from? I'm sure he'd be chuffed that somebody is interested in a song he wrote 43 years ago or so..


----------



## SergeyRys

I would readily do it if I knew how to contact them.


----------



## london calling

SergeyRys said:


> I would readily do it if I knew how to contact them.


Use the link HP provided. And let us know if you find anything out....


----------



## Hermione Golightly

It's very common for English writers to invent names which reflect the character's personality. Dickens and Evelyn Waugh spring to mind.  In Waugh's case he might keep the real name of someone he disliked and use it several times for a variety of unpleasant characters. The real name 'Cruttwell' for example. It's not a glaringly unpleasant sounding name and 'crutt' has no meaning in itself - it's just that 'u' is not a pleasant sound and occurs in many words with unpleasant meanings. Even an innocuous word like 'duck' doesn't sound good when you think about it.

The name 'Sidle Jinx' is far from "pure nonsense" to a native speaker. It 'speaks volumes' as the cliche goes. I listened to the song and hear 'sidle' not 'title'. I can't account for hearing t instead of s. It's not very clear but clear enough. Of course I automatically put a letter which makes sense to me and fits with the rest of what I hear. Since the other sound is definitely 'idle' not 'itle'  I'd never think of adding a 't', especially in the clear context. It has to be sidle, because that's the only letter that can precede idle. Some accents have difficulty producing 't'  distinct from 'd', which reflects a difficulty hearing the distinction, I suppose, or some element in the mother tongue. For instance, German 'd' being pronounced as 't' in places.
Anyway, it's been lovely having a catch-up orgy of Smokie one of my favourites. When I asked Alexa to please play Smokie she said "Not again!". I had a star-struck chat with them in Dusseldorf airport as we hung about waiting for a badly delayed flight home. It was just before Alan was killed when their tour bus crashed outside Cologne. They were very popular in Germany.


----------



## Chasint

1. Why make it difficult for us by failing to mention the name of the song (*What Can I Do*)? You can't assume we all know it - I certainly didn't.

2. Having listened briefly and looked at a version of the lyrics, there are obvious errors. For example "Used to play my guitar with a smile on my face" is incorrectly transcribed as the nonsensical "You still play my guitar with a smile on my face"

3. _Sidle_ is not the sort of word you would find in a pop song. Both _Sidle Jinks_ and _Title Jinx_ are ludicrous ideas for what he is singing.

4. Once we have been fed the wrong words, it is difficult to hear the right ones.

5. "Jinx was my name" makes perfect sense. We need to find a more sensible previous word. I don't think it is a name.


----------



## SergeyRys

If Alan is dead, as is indicated above, there's no use trying to connect his former agents.


----------



## Hermione Golightly

I didn't know the name of the song, but I should have thought of mentioning it I suppose.
The group's still around believe it or not, with Uttley and a few of the orginals.
I'm surprised by the idea that pop group members aren't clever enough to think up amusing names. It's part of our cultural heritage. Chris Norman and two of the others, Silson and Uttley, met at grammar school, St Bede's Bradford, so they must have some brains - that would have been 1961 when, I think, the 11+ grading exam was still in operation.


----------



## heypresto

SergeyRys said:


> If Alan is dead, as is indicated above, there's no use trying to connect his former agents.



Alan _Barton_ died, not Alan _Silson_.


----------



## london calling

The writer's name  surname was Silson? I can imagine that being turned into a schoolboy nickname along the lines of 'Sidle Jinx' in the great British grammar/public school tradition where nearly everyone had a nickname.

Admittedly he says 'from the day I was born', but poetic licence and all that....

Edit. My nickname was a play on my surname.


----------



## Oleg68

Chasint said:


> 1. Why make it difficult for us by failing to mention the name of the song (*What Can I Do*)? You can't assume we all know it - I certainly didn't.



Sorry, it was 8 years ago. I didn't know the rules.


----------



## SergeyRys

I listened to Chris Norman performing this song on 2012 Youtube video taken in the town of Kandapoga (Russian province) and he distinctly sings 'title' or 'titled' !!!


----------



## SergeyRys

I have seen some other videos of chris norman singing 'what can i do' taken in Russia and Estonia and he pronounce the letter 't' everywhere. No doubts now.


----------



## Chasint

Can we use a little logic on this. He sings, "from the day I was born" not "from when I was at school".

No-one goes to grammar school on the day they are born, nor do they have a nickname such as Sidle Jinks as a baby.

The entire song is about him lamenting having bad luck throughout his life, therefore it would make perfect sense for 'Jinx' to be his name - not literally but figuratively. He complains that his life was jinxed from the very beginning.

As for 'sidle' and 'title', these make no sense whatsoever. Babies don't sidle and, unless they are royalty, they don't have a title.

"From the day I was born, 'Jinx' was my name" is equivalent to "From the day I was born, 'Bad Luck' was my name" and both work perfectly.

The word before that, is the real puzzle. Neither 'sidle' nor 'title' make any sense.


----------



## Langton's Aunt

It sounds like Sad Old Jinx to me.


----------



## SergeyRys

The fact is Chris Norman solo sings it 'title jinx'. 
'From the day i was born' is kind of literal exaggeration.


----------



## Chasint

SergeyRys said:


> The fact is Chris Norman solo sings it 'title jinx'.
> 'From the day i was born' is kind of literal exaggeration.


'title jinx' has no meaning in English. 'title' is not a name, part of a name or a nickname.


----------



## Chasint

SergeyRys said:


> The fact is Chris Norman solo sings it 'title jinx'.
> 'From the day i was born' is kind of literal exaggeration.


If that's what you want to believe then no-one will be able to persuade you otherwise.

All I can say as a native speaker from the same country as Chris Norman is that 'title jinx' makes no sense and 'title' is not a name, part of a name or any kind of nickname. 'title' is a neutral word that conveys no information about the sort of person that someone might be. It makes no more sense than would calling someone 'noun jinks' or 'verb jinks'. It is a dead parrot.


----------



## london calling

I just listened to a live version on YouTube (Bradford 1985). He sings 'Jinx was my name', just to confuse matters.


----------

