what is a soda jerk

[CiderMonkey]

i think its perhaps an insult. It was the name of a song by Buffalo Tom and I have just seen it again in Valley of the Dolls. I am none the wiser.

[snoteater]

It is someone who sell fizzy drinks in American retail outlets.

[inferno]

Our interestingly named friend is largely correct:

Soda jerk is the name for the person�typically specific to young men�who works the soda fountain in a drugstore. The term is somewhat archaic these days, as there are very few drugstores that still serve ice cream and soda.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_jerk

[jno]

more modern equivalent is presumably someone serving at McDonald's in a 'McJob'

[flaming]

Jerk is a bit of rude slang in the U.S,  We have an equivalent here but I'm not going to say it.  Soda jerks, i.e. young men, probably students doing a job extra to studiesm, had to pull things similar to our beer pumps to get the soda into the glass for customers. I think soda water was a popular drink in hot weather in the U.S. along with various ice cream treats.  People would go to a 'soda fountain', often a section of a small town drug-store I believe.  I don't know about now.  Such places might be out of fashion these days, like our ice cream parlours, or milk shake bars.  Keep a look out for scenes in old U.S. films. as they would have been a meeting place for teenagers and provided a good back-drop in films, in the way that drive-in burger bars and diners do these days.

[charliep88]

 A soda is a carbonated beverage usually sweetened , and dont call me a jerk!!!!!