Are you the type of person who knows how to change a car’s oil, cook the perfect steak, speak four languages, build a house from scratch, and paint an absolute masterpiece? If so, then one of two things is true: Either you’re lying, or you’re a Jack of all trades. The latter is a phrase that refers to someone who’s very good at many things. It’s an impressive feat to become a Jack (or Jill) of all trades, but the familiar expression is easier to explain.
One of the earliest theories comes from a 1592 pamphlet that makes a reference to Shakespeare, who was just beginning to make a name for himself at the time. The Latin phrase “Iohannes fac totum” loosely translates in Elizabethan English to “Johnny-do-it-all.” Some Shakespeare scholars think, given the contextual clues found in the pamphlet the author was referencing William Shakepseare, who was just beginning his prolific playwriting career at that time. This “Johnny-do-it-all” would have been an earlier version of “Jack of all trades.”
The actual phrasing showed up a few decades later. In 1618’s Essays and Characters of a Prison and Prisoners, Geffray Mynshul wrote: “Some broken Cittizen, who hath plaid Iack of all trades. The letter “j” was the last letter added to the alphabet, so the “i” often replaced the “j” in early printed works. ” However, by the mid-17th century, “j” was solidified in the alphabet, and “Jack of all trades” was being used to describe anyone who was adept in a wide variety of fields.
In the 18th century, extra meaning was added as the phrase was expanded to “Jack of all trades and master of none.” While you could still simply refer to someone as a “Jack of all trades” on its own, adding “master of none” meant you were ridiculing them for failing to excel. Today, the phrase can be used in its original complimentary form, or as the more recently coined insult.
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