jack-of-all-trades
a person who is able to do many jobs
TRANSLATION
jack-of-all-trades = Hansdampf in allen Gassen, Alleskönner --- GOOGLE INDEX jack-of-all-trades: approximately 29,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The really great entrepreneur is not the JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES. Entrepreneurs win because they have taken their strengths so seriously that they do not allow themselves to be drawn into activities that bore and deplete them.
(BusinessWeek magazine)
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I'll mow your lawn, clean the leaves out of your drain
I'll mend your roof to keep out the rain
I'll take the work that God provides
I'm a JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES honey, we'll be all right
- from the Bruce Springsteen song "Jack of all trades"
(BusinessWeek magazine)
---
I'll mow your lawn, clean the leaves out of your drain
I'll mend your roof to keep out the rain
I'll take the work that God provides
I'm a JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES honey, we'll be all right
- from the Bruce Springsteen song "Jack of all trades"
Did you
know?
jack-of-all-trades
idiom
- a person who can do passable work at various tasks
- a handy versatile person
Merriam-Webster
---
Jack was originally a derivative of the common English name "John" which was long the most common male name in the United Kingdom. By 2004, John had fallen out of the top 50 names for newborn boys in England and Wales. By contrast, Jack was the most popular name given to newborn boys in England and Wales every year from 1995 to 2005.
In the expression jack-of-all-trades, "jack" is used in the sense of the common or ordinary man. This usage goes all the way back to the 14th century. During this time, jacks were those men at the bottom of the social ladder.
Thus the Oxford Dictionary defines the generic meaning of the name Jack as "a man of the common people; a lad, fellow, chap; especially a low-bred or ill-mannered fellow, a knave." In Elizabethan English the quasi-New Latin term Johannes factotum (literally Johnny do-it-all) was sometimes used, with the same negative connotation.
In the U.S. jack has long been used as a form of address to a man whose name is not known. Various trade names have also been formed by adding the word jack, including:
- lumberjack = a person who fells trees and brings them to the mill
- steeplejack = a person who builds or maintains very high building structures
- jack tar = a sailor
A related expression is "jack of all trades, a master of none" which is a cynical way of referring to someone who has a wide range of skills, but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one.
(sources; Wikipedia, Phrase Finder, Oxford English Dictionary)
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SYNONYMS
handyman, man-of-all-work
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Every office needs a jack-of-all-trades to get things done."
idiom
- a person who can do passable work at various tasks
- a handy versatile person
Merriam-Webster
---
Jack was originally a derivative of the common English name "John" which was long the most common male name in the United Kingdom. By 2004, John had fallen out of the top 50 names for newborn boys in England and Wales. By contrast, Jack was the most popular name given to newborn boys in England and Wales every year from 1995 to 2005.
In the expression jack-of-all-trades, "jack" is used in the sense of the common or ordinary man. This usage goes all the way back to the 14th century. During this time, jacks were those men at the bottom of the social ladder.
Thus the Oxford Dictionary defines the generic meaning of the name Jack as "a man of the common people; a lad, fellow, chap; especially a low-bred or ill-mannered fellow, a knave." In Elizabethan English the quasi-New Latin term Johannes factotum (literally Johnny do-it-all) was sometimes used, with the same negative connotation.
In the U.S. jack has long been used as a form of address to a man whose name is not known. Various trade names have also been formed by adding the word jack, including:
- lumberjack = a person who fells trees and brings them to the mill
- steeplejack = a person who builds or maintains very high building structures
- jack tar = a sailor
A related expression is "jack of all trades, a master of none" which is a cynical way of referring to someone who has a wide range of skills, but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one.
(sources; Wikipedia, Phrase Finder, Oxford English Dictionary)
---
SYNONYMS
handyman, man-of-all-work
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Every office needs a jack-of-all-trades to get things done."
