Jack of all trades

"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person that is competent with many skills but is not necessarily outstanding in any particular one.

A Jack of all trades may be a master of integration, as such an individual knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a practical manner. This person is a generalist rather than a specialist. A person who is exceptional in many disciplines is known as a polymath or a renaissance man; a typical example is Leonardo da Vinci.

In 1612, the phrase appeared in the book "Essays and Characters of a Prison" by English writer Geffray Mynshul (Minshull) originally published in 1618, and probably based on the author's experience while held at Gray's Inn, London, when imprisoned for debt. Mynshul uses only the first half of the phrase in the book, which may indicate that the phrase was in common usage at the time he wrote his account.

The phrase is occasionally quoted in full as the rhyming verse

"Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one"

In North America, the phrase has been in use since 1721, typically in its shortened form.

The 'jack of all trades' part of the phrase was in common use during the 17th century and was generally used as a term of praise. 'Jack' in those days was a generic term for 'man'. Later the 'master of none' was added and the expression ceased to be very flattering. Today, the phrase used in its entirety generally describes a person whose knowledge, while covering a number of areas, is superficial in all of them, whilst when abbreviated as simply 'jack of all trades' is more ambiguous and the user's intention may vary, dependent on context.

In other languages

Sayings and terms resembling 'jack of all trades' appear in almost all languages. Whether they are meant positively or negatively varies, and is dependent on the context. While many of these refer to a "jack of all trades" in them, the fundamental idea they are trying to convey may be entirely different.

• Chinese
  • Mandarin (Simplified): 门门懂,样样瘟 (Traditional): 樣樣通,樣樣鬆 ("All trades known, all trades dull")
  • Shanghainese (Simplified): 三脚猫 ("A cat with only 3 legs")
  • Shanghainese (Simplified): 万宝全书缺只角 ("An encyclopedia with one corner missing")
  • Cantonese: 周身刀,無張利 ("Equipped with knives, none are sharp")

• Japanese: 器用貧乏 ("skillful but poor")

• Spanish
  • Chile: Maestro Chasquilla ("Chasquilla Master").
  • Argentina,Uruguay: El que mucho abarca poco aprieta (" He who embraces too much, has a weak grasp").
  • Spain: Todero, Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada ("Apprentice of everything, master of nothing").
  • Spain: Maestro Liendre, que todo sabe y de nada entiende ("Knows about everything but understands nothing").
  • Spain: Un océano de conocimiento de una pulgada de profundidad ("An ocean of knowledge of an inch deep").
  • Mexico: A todo le tiras, y a nada le pegas ("You aim for everything, but you hit nothing").

• German: Hansdampf in allen Gassen ("Jack Steam in all alleys"), while "Hansdampf" can also refer to a scalawag, thus not necessarily positive.

• French: Homme-à-tout-faire ("Do-all man" but the meaning is now used more for the job of 'handy-man' than for anything else), Touche-à-tout ("Touch everything"), Qui trop embrasse, mal étreint ("he who embraces too much, has a weak grasp"). Occasionally the expression Maître Jacques (literally "Master Jack") is used.

• Dutch: Manusje-van-alles ("Hand-of-all"), usually meant positively. There is also Handige Harry ("Handy Harry"), which has a negative connotation.

• Persian: همه‌کاره و هیچ‌کاره ("Do-it-all and do-nothing").

• Icelandic: Þúsundþjalasmiður ("A craftsman of a thousand rasps").

• Italian: Esperto di tutto, maestro in niente ("Expert of everything, master of none").

• Brazilian Portuguese: Pau para toda obra ("Wood for every construction"). Commonly used, but with a positive connotation, describing someone who is able and willing to serve many tasks with enough competence.
• Portuguese: Homem dos 7 ofícios ("Man of the 7 crafts"). Commonly used in a good way to describe someone who is handy in a variety of tasks.

• Lithuanian: Devyni amatai, dešimtas – badas ("When you have nine trades, then your tenth one is famine/starvation"). There is also Barbė šimtadarbė ("Barbie with hundred professions").

• Estonian: Üheksa ametit, kümnes nälg ("Nine trades, the tenth one - hunger").

• Finnish: Jokapaikanhöylä (Plane for all purposes). Usually a compliment, but sometimes implies irony: a tool designed for all purposes is not really good for any specific purposes.

• Polish: Siedem fachów, ósma bieda ("Seven trades, the eighth one - poverty").

• Greek: Πολυτεχνίτης και ερημοσπίτης ("He who knows a lot of crafts lives in an empty house"). The empty house – without a spouse and children – implies poverty and lack of prosperity.

• Egyptian Arabic: سبع صنايع والبخت ضايع ("The one who knows seven professions but is so unlucky").
• Tagalog: Marunong sa lahat, magaling sa wala ("Knows everything, masters none").
• Turkish: Her işi bilen hiçbir şey yapamaz. ("One who knows everything cannot do anything")

• Elizabethan English: the synonymous quasi-New Latin term Johannes factotum ("Johnny do-it-all") was sometimes used, with the same negative connotation that "Jack of all trades" sometimes has today. The term was famously used by Robert Greene in the earliest surviving published reference to William Shakespeare.

• Urdu: ھر فن مولا or "Har-fan maula". ("Master of all trades".)

• Russian: Мастер на все руки ("Master in all hands."). Used only as a term of praise. За десять дел возьмется, ни одно не закончит ("Goes for ten, done with nothing"). К каждой бочке затычка ("A peg for every barrel") — someone who wants to participate in every deal.

• Thai: รู้อย่างเป็ด ("Know like duck")

• Vietnamese: Một nghề cho chín, còn hơn chín nghề ("Being master in one job is better than doing normally in nine jobs").

• Czech: Devatero řemesel, desátá bída. ("Nine crafts, tenth comes misery").

• Hungarian: Ezermester ("Master of a thousand things") Used as a compliment. Aki sokat markol, keveset fog. ("He who grasps much, retains but little")

• Croatian: Katica za sve ("Kate for everything")

• Romanian: Bun la toate și la nimic ("Good at everything and at nothing")

• Korean: 열 두 가지 재주 가진 놈이 저녁거리가 없다 ("A man of twelve talents has nothing to eat for dinner")

• Hebrew: "תפסת מרובה לא תפסת" (short) or "תפסת מרובה לא תפסת - תפסת מועט תפסת" (full) ("He who have seized a lot, have not seized" (short) or "He who have seized a lot, have not seized - He who have seized little, seized"). This idiom originated from the Talmud, used to express the idea that when it is possible to take a particular law from two different sources, it should be taken from the stricter of the two, in order to stay on the safe side and avoid making assumptions about which is correct.

• Esperanto: Kiu ĉasas du leporojn, kaptas neniun. ("Who chases two jackrabbits catches none")

• Slovenian: Mojster za vse ("Master for (at) everything")