Jack of all trades

This article is about the phrase. For other uses, see Jack of All Trades.

Look up jack of all trades in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on only one.

The original version, "a jack of all trades", is often used as a compliment for a person who is good at fixing things and has a good level of broad knowledge. They may be a master of integration: an individual who knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring the disciplines together in a practical manner. This person is a generalist rather than a specialist. A jack of all trades that is highly skilled in many disciplines is known as a polymath.

Origins

In 1612, the phrase appeared in the book "Essays and Characters of a Prison" by English writer Geffray Mynshul (Minshull),[1] originally published in 1618,[2] and was probably based on the author's experience while held at Gray's Inn, London, when imprisoned for debt.

"Master of none"

The "master of none" element appears to have been added in the late 18th century;[3] it made the statement less flattering to the person receiving it. Today, "Jack of all trades, master of none" generally describes a person whose knowledge, while covering a number of areas, is superficial in all of them. When abbreviated as simply "jack of all trades", it is an ambiguous statement – the user's intention is then dependent on context. However, when "master of none" is added (sometimes in jest), this is unflattering.[4] In the United States and Canada, the phrase has been in use since 1721.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Geffray Minshull (Mynshul), English miscellaneous writer (1594? - 1668)". Giga-usa.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  2. ^ Minshull, Geffray (1821). Essayes and characters of a Prison and Prisoners originally published in 1618. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  3. ^ Martin, Gary. "'Jack of all trades' – the meaning and origin of this phrase". www.phrases.org.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  4. ^ Morris, William and Mary, ed. (1988) [1977]. Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins. New York: HarperCollins.
  5. ^ The OED notes appearance in The Boston News-Letter in August 1721 as "Jack of all Trades; and it would seem, Good at none."
  6. ^ Titelman, Gregory Y. (1996). Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings. New York: Random House.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.