A Cracker Jack Controversy has been popping up at my work lately.

We needed somewhere between 70 and 80 boxes of Cracker Jack for a project I’d rather not discuss. So, with all these boxes of the candy-coated pieces of popcorn and peanuts sitting around, the question of whether the proper term for the confection is Cracker Jack or Cracker Jacks came up.

I was prepared. I remember having this same argument in grade school. Then, a friend of mine, Daryl Smith, tried to tell me that Cracker Jack was singular because it refers to the toy prize in side. It doesn’t. It refers to the peanuts and popcorn.

But, the term is singular, nonetheless. Let me repeat that. The proper name is Cracker Jack—not Cracker Jacksss. Again, Cracker Jack is not plural.

Actually, I bring the argument on myself. I keep baiting people when they say “Cracker Jacks” by saying “That’s Cracker Jack.” Say it enough times and people will take the bait. The typical response I hear from people when I insist that it is Cracker Jack is “That doesn’t sound right.” My response is to tell them that they have a tin ear. Many people also think it sounds right to brazenly split an infinitive. See what I mean?

Actually, by baiting people with the “That’s Cracker Jack” phrase, I was, without realizing it, quoting the very words that gave Cracker Jack its name.

1896 Louis Rueckheim, F.W.’s brother and partner, discovers the process for keeping the molasses-covered popcorn morsels from sticking together. Louis gives the treat to a salesman who exclaims, “That’s crackerjack!” “So it is,” says F.W. Rueckheim, who then has the words trademarked.

I don’t fault anyone for not knowing that Cracker Jack should be singular—many of us grew up hearing everyone around us call it Cracker Jacks. One of my colleagues who took the bait attempted to prove that Cracker Jack should be plural by pointing out the song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” According to her, one of the lines is “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks.” I simply asked her to complete the line which concludes with the phrase “I don’t care if I ever get back.” Clearly, back should rhyme with Jack and not Jacks. In fact, I’ll be that Jack Norworth, who wrote the song in 1908, was looking specifically for a word that rhymed with back and thought that Cracker Jack fit the bill. If you’re interested in reading the original words to Take Me Out to the Ball Game, you can find them at the Baseball Almanac.

If it is lyrics we want—we can’t stop there. We also need to consider the Cracker Jack Jingle. It also refers to Cracker Jack in the singular. Need to hear it for yourself? Then listen to the Cracker Jack Jingle MP3. I’m not sure how well you can rely on this audio. I could swear I hear the word Googlewhackin in that string of Lip-Smackin’—Whip-Crackin’ rhymes.

Still, this doesn’t answer the question of why anyone would call it Cracker Jack (singular). Here is my take. Cracker Jack isn’t something you can easily break down into quantifiable pieces. In other words, if someone were to ask you how much of it you had left, you’d probably say half a box (provided you actually do have half a box left and aren’t a bald-faced liar) rather than say 16 Cracker Jacks. What is the smallest irreducible unit of Cracker Jack? Is it one piece of popcorn? What about the peanuts? What about hunk of candy coating stuck in the bottom of the box? Are these not also part of the confection we call Cracker Jack?

In this way, it is much like water and dirt which we typically talk about in terms of volume—not individual pieces. Furthermore, given Cracker Jack’s close kinship to popcorn, it seems appropriate that we treat the issue of singular/plural with Cracker Jack in the manner we do popcorn. Popcorn is quantified in handfuls, bags, boxes, buckets and balls. So, too, should we quantify our Cracker Jack.

Pass the chips.

hr.

Interested in reading more about Cracker Jack? See these links:

• The Official Cracker Jack Homepage
• NPR did an interesting story on Cracker Jack as part of its Present at the Creation series. This page also has several multimedia links to audio and video spots that involve Cracker Jack.
• Cracker Jack Collector’s Association
• Cracker Jack Box is dedicated to Cracker Jack collecting.
• The Crackerjak’s …er… Cracker Jack page! has a brief history many more interesting links.