jack of all trades

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Alternative spellings 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Translations

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Alternative spellings

• Jack of all trades, Jack of all Trades, Jack-of-all-trades, jack-of-all-trades

[edit] Etymology

Shortened updated form of jack of all trades, master of none

[edit] Noun

jack of all trades (plural jacks of all trades)

1. (idiomatic) One competent in many endeavors, especially one who excels in none of them.
   • 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. 25:

     "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.

   • 1912, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Where There's A Will, Ch. 5:

     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.

[edit] Synonyms

• factotum, handyman

[edit] Translations