jill of all trades en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
By analogy with jack of all trades.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) A woman competent in many endeavors rather than only one.
Sister Josephine was a jill of all trades. She served as bursar, school secretary, meals supervisor, welfare officer and troubleshooter.
2012, Ruth Hamilton, The Bells of Scotland Road, Macmillan, published 2012, →ISBN:Sitting in a dive in Central Square, the one where she works as a dishwasher, barmaid, jill of all trades (illegal, no papers, below-the-minimum cash payments, afternoon and early evening shifts), she stared into a mug of beer and told herself: There comes a point.
1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, University of Queensland Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 268:If you intend to work primarily in one field, that approach would be reasonable. But if you aspire to be a jack or jill of all trades, you may want to begin by looking at some general guides for nonspecialized writers.
2000, Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, University of California Press, published 2000, →ISBN, page 64:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jill of all trades | alternative | lexicographic | |
| jill-of-all-trades | alternative | lexicographic | |
| jills of all trades | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| Jill-of-all-trades | alternative | lexicographic |