{"id":23698,"date":"2024-10-10T14:37:07","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T14:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/?p=23698"},"modified":"2024-10-10T14:37:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T14:37:07","slug":"jack-of-all-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/?p=23698","title":{"rendered":"Jack Of All Trades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If someone described you as a <strong>jack of all trades<\/strong>, would you see it as a compliment or an insult?<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewmalone\/5163238038\/in\/photolist-8SfWMu-akuSjo-aks52a-Ce6G6-rzqHTt-2q3BcSc-MFkZxX-fjTV4P-a936bZ-2pmVfYG-aks4px-aks5aV-cF7pib-rhQRUA-9K6bCd-76q7PE-rzqDut-rzjujy-6wdVRn-qCr2bJ-2nX6YB1-eGPCQD-rzjAqm-2q8jqhk-2nX9LBL-8JxWFg-dawkqJ-djdxBU-ocuJ41-Uq2ZMM-6T1xup-6sgrMA-mwP2m7-5ohAeA-6311TA-2pmLPYu-5D8AE6-sGPSE-PkS9zL-e2fMeB-6H2FHr-akuSxW-9R7WRG-ca4Kiq-51UfkX-2q3zREt-c7Skeu-4bjFbZ-2nX8qeQ-59mCTg\" title=\"One man band\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/1126\/5163238038_eb50ace040_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"One man band\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>These days, this phrase might refer to someone who has some ability in a variety of things, but doesn&#8217;t excel at any of them. Or in other words, a generalist with superficial knowledge \/ ability in various areas, rather than a specialist who focuses on becoming expert at one thing. <\/p>\n<p>The earliest known version of the phrase in English, <strong>Jack-of-all-trades<\/strong>, appeared in print in 1618 in Geffray Mynshul&#8217;s book <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/books\/reader?id=iqVa6p6Q-H4C&#038;pg=GBS.PA50&#038;hl=en_GB\"><em>Essayes and Characters of a prison and prisoners<\/em><\/a> in the following passage:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Now for the mo\ufb05 part your porter is either \u017fome broken cittizen, who hath plaid Jack-of-all-trades, \u017fome pander, broker, or hangman, that hath plaid the knaue with all men, and for the more certainty his embleme is a red beard, to which \u017facke hath made his no\u017fe cou\u017fin german.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Key: \ufb05 = st, \u017f = s, mo\ufb05 = most, cittizen = citizen, hath = has, plaid = played, knaue = knave, no\u017fe = nose<\/p>\n<p>A longer version of the phrase is <strong>jack of all trades, master of none<\/strong> &#8211; the master of none part, or something similar, was added in the 18th century. It first appears in the <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=EuvqPkAq2bkC&#038;pg=PA237&#038;dq=%22jack+of+all+trades+and+good+at+none%22&#038;hl=en&#038;sa=X&#038;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&#038;q=%22jack%20of%20all%20trades%20and%20good%20at%20none%22&#038;f=false><em>Boston News-Letter<\/em><\/a> in 1721 as: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A Jack of all Trades, and it would seem, Good at none.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Another early version of the phrase, which appears in Thomas Fuller&#8217;s 1732 book, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=3y8JAAAAQAAJ&#038;pg=PA130&#038;dq=%22jack+of+all+trades+is+of+no+trade%22&#038;hl=en&#038;sa=X&#038;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&#038;q=%22jack%20of%20all%20trades%20is%20of%20no%20trade%22&#038;f=false\"><em>Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British<\/em><\/a> as:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Jack<\/em> of all Trades is of no Trade<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sometimes the phrase is made less insulting by adding an extra part: <strong>Jack of all trades, master of none, but better than a master of one<\/strong>, or <strong>Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one<\/strong>. These are modern additions to the phrase, although some people claim that the &#8216;original&#8217; version included something like them [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/simia#Latin\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Synonyms for <strong>jack of all trades<\/strong> include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>generalist<\/strong> = a person with a broad general knowledge, especially one with more than superficial knowledge in several areas and the ability to combine ideas from diverse fields.<\/li>\n<li><strong>polymath<\/strong> = a person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge. From Ancient Greek <em>\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03b8\u03ae\u03c2<\/em> (polumath\u1e17s &#8211; having learnt much).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Renaissance man\/woman\/person<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>factotum<\/strong> = a person employed to do all sorts of duties, a general servant, a person having many diverse activities or responsibilities. From Latin <em>faci\u014d<\/em> (do, make) &#038; <em>t\u014dtum<\/em> (everything).<\/li>\n<li><strong>sciolist<\/strong> [\u02c8sa\u026a\u0259l\u026ast] = one who exhibits only superficial knowledge; a self-proclaimed expert with little real understanding. From Late Latin <em>sciolus<\/em>, a diminutive of <em>scius<\/em> (knowing).<\/li>\n<li><strong>multipotentialite<\/strong> = a term coined by Emilie Wapnick in 2015 to refer to people with many interests and creative pursuits. See: <a href=\"https:\/\/puttylike.com\/\">https:\/\/puttylike.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are some equivalent phrases in other languages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u4e07\u4e8b\u901a [\u842c\u4e8b\u901a]<\/strong> (w\u00e0nsh\u00ect\u014dng) = jack of all trades, know-it-all: &#8220;10,000 things expert&#8221; (Chinese)<\/li>\n<li><strong>duizendpoot<\/strong> = a person of many talents; a centipede: &#8220;1,000 leg&#8221; (Dutch)<\/li>\n<li><strong>touche-\u00e0-tout<\/strong> = jack of all trades: &#8220;[who] touches everything&#8221; (French)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u4f55\u3067\u3082\u5c4b<\/strong> = (nandemoya) generalist, jack of all trades: &#8220;anything-er&#8221; (Japanese)<\/li>\n<li><strong>hombre orquesta<\/strong> = one-man band, factotum: &#8220;man orchestra&#8221; (Spanish)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Are you a <strong>generalist<\/strong>, or more of a <strong>specialist<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m more of a <strong>generalist<\/strong> with a variety of interests, skills and knowledge. For me, one language is never enough, and neither is one instrument, one type of music, or one type of juggling or other circus skill.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_of_all_trades\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jack_of_all_trades<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.phrases.org.uk\/meanings\/jack-of-all-trades.html\">https:\/\/www.phrases.org.uk\/meanings\/jack-of-all-trades.html<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/english.stackexchange.com\/questions\/408782\/is-jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none-really-just-a-part-of-a-longer-proverb\">https:\/\/english.stackexchange.com\/questions\/408782\/is-jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none-really-just-a-part-of-a-longer-proverb<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If someone described you as a jack of all trades, would you see it as a compliment or an insult? These days, this phrase might refer to someone who has some ability in a variety of things, but doesn&#8217;t excel at any of them. Or in other words, a generalist with superficial knowledge \/ ability [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,95,102,104,111,129,10,64,78],"tags":[164,158,283,282,138,281,284,163],"class_list":["post-23698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ancient-greek-","category-chinese","category-dutch","category-english","category-french","category-japanese","category-language","category-spanish","category-words-and-phrases","tag-english","tag-etymology","tag-generalist","tag-jack-of-all-trades","tag-language","tag-omniglot","tag-sayings","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23698"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23706,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23698\/revisions\/23706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}