jill of all trades

See also: jill-of-all-trades, Jill-of-all-trades, and Jill of all trades

English

Alternative forms

• Jill of all trades, Jill-of-all-trades, jill-of-all-trades

Etymology

By analogy with jack of all trades.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

jill of all trades (plural jills of all trades)

1. (idiomatic) A woman competent in many endeavors rather than only one.
   • 1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, University of Queensland Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 268:

     Sitting in a dive in Central Square, the one where she works as a dishwasher, barmaid, jill of all trades (illegal, no papers, below-the-minimum cash payments, afternoon and early evening shifts), she stared into a mug of beer and told herself: There comes a point.

   • 2000, Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, University of California Press, published 2000, →ISBN, page 64:

     If you intend to work primarily in one field, that approach would be reasonable. But if you aspire to be a jack or jill of all trades, you may want to begin by looking at some general guides for nonspecialized writers.

   • 2012, Ruth Hamilton, The Bells of Scotland Road‎^[1], Macmillan, published 2012, →ISBN:

     Sister Josephine was a jill of all trades. She served as bursar, school secretary, meals supervisor, welfare officer and troubleshooter.

Coordinate terms

• jack of all trades