What does joll mean in the following sentence?
… give him the upper or right hand, and walk not just even with him cheek be joll, but a little behind him, yet not so distant as that it shall be troublesome to him to speak to thee,…
Source: Rules for Childrens Behaviour …
Best Answer
It's the phrase 'cheek by jowl', which the OED lists under the entry for 'cheek':
It's also listed under 'jowl | jole' (n1):
and that refers to 'jowl | jole' (n2):
So the OED seems to be uncertain as to whether the 'jowl' in 'cheek by jowl' refers to the jaw, the neck, or the roll of fat which makes a 'double chin' - or even perhaps 'head'.
But 'walking cheek by jowl' definitely means walking very close together.
This is from The School of Manners, I'm guessing?
So Garretson is saying, when you're walking with someone more important than you, don't walk side-by-side with them as if you were their best buddy, instead walk a little bit behind them (but not so far behind that it's a pain in the arse for them to talk to you).