jerk around

[Bushwhacker]

Two men are at the opera, one behind the other. The one behind is with a very young girl who's not precisely his wife. The other one wants to provoke the adulterer and says his name loudly, in a cool and dry tone.

As for the reaction of the offended man, the text follows as this

"He jumped and jerked around to meet his gaze."

Please, what's the meaning of "jerked around" here?

Thank You

 

[Offroad]

'jerk around' means 'to take unfair advantage of, deceive, or manipulate'.

jerk around

 

[Bushwhacker]

'jerk around' means 'to take unfair advantage of, deceive, or manipulate'.

jerk around

Yes, thank you, but those meanings seem not to fit in my context. Do you have any idea?

 

[bhaisahab]

Two men are at the opera, one behind the other. The one behind is with a very young girl who's not precisely his wife. The other one wants to provoke the adulterer and says his name loudly, in a cool and dry tone.

As for the reaction of the offended man, the text follows as this

"He jumped and jerked around to meet his gaze."

Please, what's the meaning of "jerked around" here?

Thank You

It means that he turned around to face him in an abrupt manner.

 

[Bushwhacker]

It means that he turned around to face him in an abrupt manner.

Thank You. Can this jerk around connote any menacing attitude?

 

[bhaisahab]

Thank You. Can this jerk around connote any menacing attitude?

It could, yes.

 

[BobK]

It could, yes.

:up: But it could also bear many other interpretations.

The man turned round abruptly. His face might have shown anger or aggression or shame ... or any other feeling. The occurrence of 'jerk' next to 'around' is accidental. This is not a phrasal verb with an intrinsic suggestion of malice (which I think the OP may be thinking).

b