Jack of all trades ...
Hi there,
'a jack of all trades' vs 'jack of all trades, a master of none' (*)
As far as I know it's not uncommon for native speakers to shorten proverbs/sayings,etc. My question is if such shortening can sometimes change the meaning of the original (full) version?
Let's take (*) for example.
The full version appears to always have a negative meaning (whatever context)? (Please correct me if I am wrong here).
On the other hand, the shortened (standalone) version 'jack of all trades' doesn't seem to have a negative flavor at all...
Do native speakers ever use the shortened form (= 'a jack of all trades') strictly in a positive way, just to descrive somebody as a "universal" worker/expert, etc.?
Top answer
I am not so sure that "jack of all trades" is a short version of the saying. It seems to me to stand on its own just fine, although it also seems very old. We don't use "jack" that way any more.
- I am not so sure that "jack of all trades" is a short version of the saying.
- It seems to me to stand on its own just fine, although it also seems very old.
- We don't use "jack" that way any more.
- It is used in a completely non-pejorative way today to mean someone very handy.
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I am not so sure that "jack of all trades" is a short version of the saying. It seems to me to stand on its own just fine, although it also seems very old. We don't use "jack" that way any more. It is used in a completely non-pejorative way today to mean someone very handy.
0The phrase "jack-of-all-trades" has been around since the early 1600's and has become a standard word (not a "saying") in English, meaning: a man who can do many workman-type things, for example: carpentry, masonry, plumbing, electrical work, painting, car repair, roofing, etc.
The phrase, "jack-of-all-trades, master of none", has a recent origin, say, from around the 1970's. It
0
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