:Jack of all trades
{{short description|Figure of speech}}
{{about|the phrase|other uses|Jack of All Trades (disambiguation){{!}}Jack of All Trades}}
{{Wiktionary|jack of all trades}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
"Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on only one.
The original version, "a jack of all trades", is often used as a compliment for a person who is good at fixing things and has a good level of broad knowledge. They may be a master of integration: an individual who knows enough from many learned trades and skills to be able to bring the disciplines together in a practical manner. This person is a generalist rather than a specialist. A jack of all trades that is highly skilled in many disciplines is known as a polymath.
Origins
Robert Greene used the phrase "absolute Johannes Factotum" rather than "Jack of all trades" in his 1592 booklet Greene's Groats-Worth of Wit,"There is an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes Factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country."
—Groats-Worth of Wit; cited from William Shakespeare—The Complete Works, Stephen Orgel and A. R. Braunmuller, editors, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2002, p. xlvii. to dismissively refer to actor-turned-playwright William Shakespeare;{{cite web|last=Martin|first=Gary|title='Jack of all trades' – the meaning and origin of this phrase|url=https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/jack-of-all-trades.html|website=www.phrases.org.uk|access-date=2022-09-30}} this is the first published mention of Shakespeare.{{cite journal|url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f221b50a-451e-4e3d-a077-4c066a61ba4e/files/rwp988k30t|jstor=40985630|title="Johannes fac Totum"?: Shakespeare's First Contact with the Acting Companies|last1=Van Es|first1=Bart|journal=Shakespeare Quarterly|year=2010|volume=61|issue=4|pages=551–577|doi=10.1093/sq/61.4.551 }}
Some scholars believe Greene was referring not to Shakespeare, but to "Resolute" Johannes Florio, known as John Florio. They have pointed out how "Johannes" was the Latin version of John (Giovanni), and the name by which Florio was known among his contemporaries.{{cite web|last=Iannaccone|first=Marianna|title=John or Giovanni Florio? Johannes Florius!|url=https://www.resolutejohnflorio.com/johannes-florius/|website=www.resolutejohnflorio.com|date=2021-01-26|access-date=2022-09-30}} The term "absolute" is thought to be a rhyme for the nickname used by Gregorio in his signature ("resolute"), and the term "factotum" is thought to be used as a disparaging word for secretary, John Florio's job.{{cite web|last1=Gerevini|first1=Saul|title=Shakespeare and Florio|url=http://www.shakespeareandflorio.net/|lang=it|access-date=2022-09-30}}{{cite book|last1=Gerevini|first1=Saul|title=William Shakespeare ovvero John Florio|lang=it|date=2008|publisher=Pilgrim}}{{additional citation needed|date=September 2022|reason=Secondary and/or English source(s) needed. Also, the http://www.shakespeareandflorio.net/ citation needs to be one or more specific URLs, not the site's home page.}}
In 1612, the phrase appeared in the book "Essays and Characters of a Prison" by English writer Geffray Mynshul (Minshull),{{cite web|url=http://www.giga-usa.com/quotes/lists/qubiomin.htm|title=Geffray Minshull (Mynshul), English miscellaneous writer (1594? - 1668)|publisher=Giga-usa.com|access-date=2 April 2014}} originally published in 1618,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iqVa6p6Q-H4C&q=Geffray+Minshull|title=Essayes and characters of a Prison and Prisoners originally published in 1618|access-date=2 April 2014|last1=Minshull|first1=Geffray|year=1821 }} and was probably based on the author's experience while held at Gray's Inn, London, when imprisoned for debt.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
"Master of none"
The "master of none" element appears to have been added in the late 18th century; it made the statement less flattering to the person receiving it. Today, "Jack of all trades, master of none" generally describes a person whose knowledge, while covering a number of areas, is superficial in all of them. When abbreviated as simply "jack of all trades", it is an ambiguous statement – the user's intention is then dependent on context. However, when "master of none" is added (sometimes in jest), this is unflattering.{{cite book |title=Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins |editor-first=William and Mary |editor-last=Morris |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |year=1988 |orig-year=1977}} In the United States and Canada, the phrase has been in use since 1721.The OED notes appearance in The Boston News-Letter in August 1721 as "Jack of all Trades; and it would seem, Good at none."{{full citation needed|date=September 2022}}{{cite book |title=Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings |first=Gregory Y. |last=Titelman |publisher=Random House |location=New York |date=1996}}