Jingoism is a term describing chauvinistic patriotism, especially with regard to a hawkish political stance.

The term originated in Britain, introduced by Irish music-hall singer G. H. MacDermott at the London Pavilion during the diplomatic crisis of 1878, when Britain's Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli convinced the Tsar to retreat from Bulgaria, restoring it and Macedonia to Ottoman rule. The chorus of a song by MacDermott and G. W. Hunt commonly sung in pubs at the time gave birth to the term. The bloodthirsty lyrics had the chorus:

We don't want to fight

But, by Jingo, if we do,

We've got the ships,

We've got the men,

We've got the money, too.

The expression "by Jingo" is apparently a minced oath that appeared rarely in print, as far back as the 17th century, a transparent euphemism for "by Jesus," but it has also been given origins in languages which would not have been very familiar in the British pub: a corrupted borrowed word from the Basque language "Jianko," meaning "God". A claim that the term referred to Jingo of Japan has been entirely dismissed.

During the 19th century in the United States, journalists called this attitude "spread-eagleism". This patriotic belligerence was intensified by the (apparently accidental) sinking of the Maine in Havana harbor that led to the Spanish-American War. "Jingoism" did not enter the U.S. vernacular until the twentieth century.

External link

• MacDermott song lyrics

Jingo can also be heard in the colloquial Australian tongue. The phrase, “By Jes’, By Jingo, By Crikey!” can be heard spewing from the mouth of an enthusiastic sports commentator (most like when national pride has been fluffed) even today. Jes’ a shortening of Jesus, Jingo as seen above a euphemism for Jesus, and Crikey being a softening of the blasphemous tense of Christ, because in Australia if it is worth saying it is worth saying thrice.