I have occasionally noticed that in older books (or books with an older setting)

[conuly]

referring to a person as "a jerk" doesn't always seem to mean the same thing I would mean if I said those words. For example, in The Wednesday Wars the main character complains that racing bent over would make him look "like a jerk" and my reaction was something along the lines of DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Still, language changes. What surprised me was seeing something akin to what I think of as "the older definition" in a recent work, written by somebody around my age, that is ostensibly set in the present.

Poll #20721 Jerk

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 141

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If you call somebody "a jerk", what do you mean?

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That they are a contemptibly foolish person, but I frequently hear the other definition
2 (1.4%)

That they are a contemptibly foolish person, but I am somewhat familiar with the other definition
1 (0.7%)

That they are a contemptibly foolish person, and I am not familiar with another definition
0 (0.0%)

That they are a rude, boorish, unkind person, but I frequently hear the other definition
16 (11.3%)

That they are a rude, boorish, unkind person, but I am somewhat familiar with the other definition
45 (31.9%)

That they are a rude, boorish, unkind person, and I am not familiar with any other definition
73 (51.8%)

I have another definition of this word
3 (2.1%)

I am not familiar with either definition of this word
1 (0.7%)