What is the precise meaning and the origin of the phrase "Getting one's jollies"?

I first heard it from an Englishwoman lo! these many years ago. It means 'deriving pleasure from'. It's a coined term, it's intention is humor, and no one knows who first used it.

In these days, if David Letterman coins a phrase and I use it at coffeebreak, 4 people are bound to say, 'Oh, yes, I heard that on the L-show! Funny!' So such phrases can be traced back to some extent. Of course, Dave might have stolen it from someone else, but he ain't saying.

But in 'the old days', by the time a new phrase got into circulation, no one remembered its precise first use. It's like trying to track down an urban legend. You can ask the person who told you, and they may remember who told them, but the person who told them changed jobs and dropped out of sight and may even have changed his name legally since that time.... But for sure it was a TRUE STORY, and happened to the first cousin of a friend who live in an actual small town where the event occurred...

I can't answer for the phrase itself, John, but as long as 500 years ago, the adjective 'jolly' was used to describe a bitch in heat. I have little doubt but that it was applied to the female of our own species, too! 100 years more recently, the verb form meant to enjoy oneself, so the sexual content has been lurking in there for quite a long time.