{"id":3225,"date":"2022-05-09T21:28:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T21:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3225"},"modified":"2022-05-09T21:28:22","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T21:28:22","slug":"jack-of-all-trades-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/jack-of-all-trades-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack of All Trades \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to describe a person that\u2019s good at a range of activities? Maybe you need a saying to describe someone with a surface understanding of many topics but doesn\u2019t specialize in their knowledge\u201d If so, you can use \u201c<em>Jack of all trades<\/em>.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>A \u201c<em>Jack of all trades<\/em>\u201d refers to someone with a broad knowledge base on many different topics. It can also refer to a handyman that has experience fixing a wide range of problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The phrase may also refer to someone with a surface-level understanding of many subjects but no specialization. In this case, you would use the longer version, \u201ca<em> Jack of all trades, but a master of none<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe window needs replacing. Call the handyman, he\u2019s a Jack of all trades, and I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll fix it in no time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pointless having a base knowledge in all these skills but no specialization. You\u2019re a Jack of all trades but a master of none.?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spent years bouncing from job to job and never really developed any real skillset. You could say I\u2019m a Jack of all trades but a master of none.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can handle anything to do with home maintenance. I\u2019m a Jack of all trades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3226\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Jack-of-All-Trades.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"158\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3227\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Jack-of-All-Trades2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"154\" height=\"154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Jack-of-All-Trades2.jpg 233w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Jack-of-All-Trades2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Jack-of-All-Trades2-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 154px) 100vw, 154px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the expression \"Jack of all trades\" comes from the early 1600s. Geffray Minshull was the first to use the phrase in his \"Essayes and characters of a prison and prisoners,\" published in 1612. The work described his experience in prison and appeared as the following in his work.<\/p>\n<p>\"Some broken Cittizen, who hath plaid Jack of all trades.\"<\/p>\n<p>The 18th century saw the first variation, the more modern format of \"Jack of all trades, master of none.\"<\/p>\n<p>Martin Clifford, the headmaster of Charterhouse School, wrote a series of notes on Dryden's poems in 1677. The phrase appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\"Your Writings are like a Jack of all Trades Shop, they have Variety, but nothing of value.\"<\/p>\n<p>The phrase would also appear in \"The Gentleman's Magazine\" in 1770 as the following.<\/p>\n<p>\"Jack at all trades, is seldom good at any.\"<\/p>\n<p>The earliest use of the modern version of the saying appears in \"Pharmacomastix,\" written by Charles Lucas in 1785, where it appears as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\"The very Druggist, who in all other nations in Europe is but Pharmacopola, a mere drug-merchant, is with us, not only a physician and chirurgeon, but also a Galenic and Chemic apothecary; a seller of druggs, medicines, vertices, oils, paints or colours poysons, &amp;c. a Jack of all trades, and in truth, master of none.\"<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF NONE? What does JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF NONE mean?\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9pJX54LVEhk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Jack of All Trades<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A good all-rounder.<\/li>\n<li>Odd-job man.<\/li>\n<li>Renaissance man.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Jack of All Trades<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Specialist professional.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Jack of all trades.<\/li>\n<li>Jack of all trades, master of none.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Jack of All Trades Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s common for people to use the abbreviated format of the saying. The full version is \u201cJack of all trades, master of none.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some people may phrase it incorrectly as \u201cJack of all trades, master of all trades,\u201d but that is incorrect.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Jack of All Trades<\/h2>\n<p>You can use \u201cjack of all trades\u201d to describe someone with good general knowledge but no specialization in anything they know.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a way of telling someone they have a surface understanding of many subjects. Still, their knowledge doesn\u2019t benefit their life in any way.<\/p>\n<p>The saying suits professional and social use. You could use it at work to describe someone who is a good all-around player but lacks specialized skills that add value to the company.<\/p>\n<p>You can use it with friends when you\u2019re telling someone that they don\u2019t have the skill set required to make any difference to an outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to describe a person that\u2019s good at a range of activities? Maybe you need a saying to describe someone with a surface understanding of many topics but doesn\u2019t specialize in their knowledge\u201d If so, you can use \u201cJack of all trades.\u201d This post unpacks the meaning and origin of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3225"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3341,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3225\/revisions\/3341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}