Jack all

In Canada...we use a phrase sometimes..."sweet dick all".
As in...Joe went to work today and did sweet dick all (meaning he did nothing).
Any idea where this came from. My American friends think this is hilarious

Well, I find it funny, too.
Never heard it in the US.
It sounds British in its construction, as in "bugger all" meaning none. I don't believe Americans have an "all" usage in that dismissive sense. That's shooting from the hip, of course, so someone can prove me wrong.

There is some American usage of "jack all" to mean nothing, but I don't know jack all about where it comes from.

I've never heard it, but as a Brit my first thought was to assume that it's a euphemism for "sweet f**k all" which is thoroughly current in Rightpondia. (VSD)

Sounds the same as: He did jack sh*t at work today. Meaning "nothing."