jack of all trades, master of none

See also: jack of all trades

English

Alternative forms

• Jack of all trades, master of none; Jack-of-all-trades, master of none; jack-of-all-trades, master of none; jack of all trades—master of none

Etymology

Expanded form of jack of all trades, which originally was sometimes used as a term of praise.

In the 21st century this phrase has itself been (rarely) expanded to a couplet:

Jack of all trades, master of none,

though oftentimes better than master of one.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

jack of all trades, master of none (plural jacks of all trades, masters of none)

1. (idiomatic) A person who has a competent grasp of many skills but who is not outstanding in any one.

Synonyms

• factotum, handyman, sciolist, generalist, Renaissance man

Coordinate terms

• Jill of all trades, mistress of none

Translations

person who has a competent grasp of many skills

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 萬金油／万金油 (zh) (wànjīnyóu), 博而不精 (zh) (bó'érbùjīng)

• Czech: devatero řemesel, desátá bída
• Dutch: twaalf stielen, dertien ongelukken
• Finnish: jokapaikanhöylä, jokapaikan höylä
• French: bon à tout, propre à rien
• German: Hansdampf in allen Gassen (de)
• Japanese: 器用貧乏 (ja) (きようびんぼう, kiyōbinbō)
• Latin: Johannes factotum (literally “Johnny do-it-all”) (New Latin)
• Persian: همه‌کاره و هیچ‌کاره
• Portuguese: pau para toda obra (Brazil, wood for every construction)
• Russian: подмасте́рье всех ремёсел, ма́стер ни одного́ m (podmastérʹje vsex remjósel, máster ni odnovó), за всё берётся, да не всё удаётся m (za vsjo berjótsja, da ne vsjo udajótsja), автофотовеломототелерадиомонтёр m (avtofotovelomototeleradiomontjór) (jocular)
• Spanish: aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada (literally “apprentice of everything, teacher of nothing”), quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta (es)
• Thai: รู้อย่างเป็ด