Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
jack of all trades, master of none. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
jack of all trades, master of none, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
jack of all trades, master of none in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
jack of all trades, master of none you have here. The definition of the word
jack of all trades, master of none will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
jack of all trades, master of none, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Expanded form of jack of all trades, which originally was sometimes used as a term of praise.[1][2]
In the 21st century this phrase has itself been (rarely) expanded to a couplet:
- Jack of all trades, master of none,
- though oftentimes better than master of one.
Pronunciation
Noun
jack of all trades, master of none (plural jacks of all trades, masters of none)
- (idiomatic) A person who has a competent grasp of many skills but who is not outstanding in any one.
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
Translations
person who has a competent grasp of many skills
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 萬金油/万金油 (zh) (wànjīnyóu), 博而不精 (zh) (bó'érbùjīng)
- Czech: devatero řemesel, desátá bída
- Dutch: twaalf stielen, dertien ongelukken
- Finnish: jokapaikanhöylä, jokapaikan höylä
- French: bon à tout, propre à rien
- German: Hans Dampf in allen Gassen (de) m
- Japanese: 器用貧乏 (ja) (きようびんぼう, kiyōbinbō)
- Latin: Johannes factotum (literally “Johnny do-it-all”) (New Latin)
- Persian: همهکاره و هیچکاره
- Portuguese: pau para toda obra (Brazil, wood for every construction)
- Russian: подмасте́рье всех ремёсел, ма́стер ни одного́ m (podmastérʹje vsex remjósel, máster ni odnovó), за всё берётся, да не всё удаётся m (za vsjo berjótsja, da ne vsjo udajótsja), автофотовеломототелерадиомонтёр m (avtofotovelomototeleradiomontjór) (jocular)
- Spanish: aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada (literally “apprentice of everything, teacher of nothing”), quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta (es)
- Thai: รู้อย่างเป็ด
|
References
- ^ Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988)
- ^ “Re: Jack”, ESC, The Phrase Finder, April 13, 2000