Dictionary

jack of all trades en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /-ɑl-/ (General-American, cot-caught-merger)
• (Australia) audio
• /ˌd͡ʒæk‿əv‿ɔl ˈtɹeɪdz/ (General-American)
• /ˌd͡ʒæk‿əv‿ɔːl ˈtɹeɪdz/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From jack (“typical man, fellow”) + of + all + trades.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) One competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them.
   • In 1823, when this drawing was made, there was anesthesia for dentistry and in fact very little dentistry except the extraction of teeth. Much of this extraction was conducted by itinerant quacks or jacks-of-all-trades who did it as a side line to their business. 1929, Howard W[ilcox] Haggard, “‘In Sorrow Thou shalt Bring forth Children’”, in Devils, Drugs, and Doctors: The Story of the Science of Healing from Medicine-man to Doctor, New York, N.Y.; Evanston, Ill.: Harper & Row, →OCLC, part 2 (The Story of Anesthesia), image caption, page 100:
   • A fellow can always get some sort of a job—I was coming up here to see if they needed an extra clerk or a waiter, or chauffeur, or anything that meant a roof and something to eat—but I suppose they don't need a jack-of-all-trades. 1912, Mary Roberts Rinehart, “Wanted—an Owner”, in Where There’s a Will, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, pages 52–53:
   • "I am my own engineer, and my own carpenter, and my own plumber, and my own gardener, and my own Jack of all Trades," said Wemmick, in acknowledging my compliments. 1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter VI, in Great Expectations […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 98:
   • Printer, postmaster, almanac maker, essayist, chemist, orator, tinker, statesman, humorist, philosopher, parlor man, political economist, professor of housewifery, ambassador, projector, maxim-monger, herb-doctor, wit:—Jack of all trades, master of each and mastered by none—the type and genius of his land. 1854 July – 1855 March, Herman Melville, “Which has Something to Say about Dr. Franklin and the Latin Quarter”, in Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam & Co., […], published May 1855, →OCLC, page 81:
   • Novv for the moſt part your Porter is either ſome broken Cittizen, vvho hath plaid Iack of all trades, ſome Pander, Broker, or Hangman, that hath plaid the knaue vvith all men, and for the more certainty his Embleme is a red Beard, to vvhich Sacke hath made his Noſe couſin German. 1618, G[effray] M[ynshul], “Of Entertainment in Prison”, in Essayes and Characters of a Prison and Prisoners, London: […] [George Eld] for Mathew Walbancke, […], →OCLC, pages 23–24:

Forms

Antonyms

jackass of all trades

Coordinates

jill of all trades · Jill of all trades, mistress of none

Deriveds

jack of all trades, master of none

Relateds

tradesman · tradeswoman · man of many parts · factotum · Swiss Army knife · do-all · all-purpose · wear too many hats · Renaissance man · polymath · tradesperson · spread oneself thin

Synonyms

generalist · all-rounder · jack of all trades, master of none · sciolist · factotum

Translations (56)

nl duizendpoot (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · cmn 萬事通 /万事通 (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ms jaguh serbawan (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · bar Gschaftlhuawa (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · eo ĉiofaranto (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · sv tusenkonstnär (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ru автофотовеломототелерадиомонтёр (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · nl manusje-van-alles (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es factótum (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · pt pau pra toda obra (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es manitas (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · fi jokapaikanhöylä (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ga gobán (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es polifacético (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · la omnis Minervae homo (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · gv yl-cheirdagh (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · pt pau para toda a obra (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · fr homme à tout faire (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · is þúsundþjalasmiður (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es polímata (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es hombre orquesta (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ko 만물박사 (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · nrf homme à tout faithe (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · de Hans Dampf in allen Gassen (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es todóloga (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · lv meistars visās lietās (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · pt pau para toda obra (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · pt faz-tudo (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · nl duivel-doet-al (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · fr touche-à-tout (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · bar Gschaftlhuberin (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · cy Siôn bob swydd (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ar جاك لجميع المهن (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es comodín (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · tr elinden her iş gelir (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es generalista (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · pt homem dos sete ofícios (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · hu ezermester (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · de Alleskönner (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es hombre renacentista (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ko 팔방미인 (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · fi tuhattaituri (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · de Mädchen für alles (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · no alt-mulig-mann (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · it tuttofare (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · ru ма́стер на все ру́ки (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · fa همهکاره و هیچکاره (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es hombre del renacimiento (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · bar Gschaftlhuber (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · sv mångsysslare (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · cs všeuměl (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · cy Wil naw crefft (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · de Tausendsassa (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · pl omnibus (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · no tusenkunstner (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them) · es todólogo (one competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them)