jerky way

Jennifer WeinerのFly Away Homeを読んでいます。
She looked at him and wondered what he saw when he looked at her--a girl with droopy blond hair and an ice-cream-soaked skirt; a damsel in distress, when the truth was that Lizzie was more like a Trojan horse. She might look okay, like the kind of fancy, pretty thing you’d welcome into your city or your home, but inside, she was trouble. Jeff seemed like a nice guy. He didn’t deserve Lizzie.
“Or have you got a boyfriend?” Jeff asked, but not in a jerky way. She thought about telling him that she’d never had a boyfriend in her life, but instead she just said, “I work most nights, is the thing.”
"jerky way" の "jerky" ですが、動詞の "jerk" に急に引っ張る意味があり、 "jerky" はガタガタと進んだりする様な意味になることは知っていますが、会話が "jerky way" とは何でしょうか？　辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Contemptibly foolish.: It's so unfortunate that the other mothers are being so jerky and setting a poor example for their kids!
・Cambridge English Dictionary: not smooth and pleasant: I enjoyed the concert, although the playing was kind of jerky at times.
そう言えば "beef jerky" もありましたね。