jack of all trades, master of none

• Jack of all trades, master of none; Jack-of-all-trades, master of none; jack-of-all-trades, master of none; jack of all trades—master of none

Expanded form of jack of all trades, which originally was sometimes used as a term of praise.^[1][2]

In the 21st century this phrase has itself been (rarely) expanded to a couplet:

Jack of all trades, master of none,

though oftentimes better than master of one.

• Audio (General Australian):

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jack of all trades, master of none (plural jacks of all trades, masters of none)

1. (idiomatic) A person who has a competent grasp of many skills but who is not outstanding in any one.

• factotum, handyman, sciolist, generalist, Renaissance man

• Jill of all trades, mistress of none