jackass of all trades
- idiom
- /ˈdʒækˌæs əv ɔl treɪdz/
- Offensive
:
todólogo
- She admits she's a jackass of all trades, dabbling in everything from carpentry to coding but mastering none.
Examples
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In the workplace, being a jackass of all trades can sometimes be more a curse than a blessing.
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Ever since college, Mark has been called a jackass of all trades by his friends.
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He's a real jackass of all trades!
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I consider myself a jackass of all trades.
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In her quest for self-improvement, Jane embraced being a jackass of all trades, learning a bit of photography, gardening, and cooking.
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Although he is a jackass of all trades, he often struggles to find a job that appreciates his varied skills.
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Everyone at the company knows him as a jackass of all trades, capable of fixing IT issues and handling basic repairs around the office.
Synonyms
1
4.3
A person who can do many different jobs but is not an expert
A woman who can do many kinds of work
Antonyms
How Skilled
791
4.2
∞
3.2
10
3.1
- Offensive
122
2.8
46
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines readily interpretable parts: 'of all trades' transparently indicates involvement in many occupations, and 'jackass' is a derogatory label for a foolish person, so learners can infer a foolish generalist. However, the idiomatic nuance that the person has some skill in many areas but lacks real expertise (and the colloquial pejorative tone) may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner, making the overall meaning only partially derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Jackass of all trades paints the picture of a foolish donkey (jackass) trying many jobs (all trades) but doing none of them well. That's why it means 'someone who has some skill in many areas but is not an expert'.