jack of all trades, master of none

See also jack of all trades

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

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

This phrase has itself been (rarely) expanded to a couplet:

Jack of all trades, master of none,

though oftentimes better than master of one.

Noun

jack of all trades, master 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

Translations

person who has a competent grasp of many skills

• Czech: devatero řemesel, desátá bída
• Dutch: twaalf stielen, dertien ongelukken (nl)
• Finnish: jokapaikanhöylä, jokapaikan höylä
• French: bon à tout, propre à rien (fr)
• German: Hansdampf in allen Gassen
• Latin: Johannes factotum ("Johnny do-it-all") (New Latin)

• Portuguese:

  (Brazil): Pau para toda obra ("wood for every construction")

• Spanish: Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada ("apprentice of everything, teacher of nothing")