The exact words
“Your Porter is either some broken Citizen, who hath plaid Iack of all trades ...”Geffray Minshull, Essays and Characters of a Prison (1618), with old spelling (“Iack” is Jack)
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
The full original saying was “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” so it was really a compliment.
The full original saying was “a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” so it was really a compliment.
Closer to the original
There is no evidence that the “better than a master of one” line is old. The early record runs the other way: first a plain description, then a jab added in the 1700s. The flattering ending is a modern addition.
There is no evidence that the “better than a master of one” line is old. The early record runs the other way: first a plain description, then a jab added in the 1700s. The flattering ending is a modern addition.
Timeline
- 1618Geffray Minshull, writing about a debtors' prison, describes the porter as a failed citizen who has “played Jack of all trades.”
- 1721The Boston News-Letter prints “Jack of all Trades; and it would seem, Good at none,” the earliest recorded form of the negative ending, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
- LaterOver time, “master of none” becomes the usual ending.
- TodayA longer version, “but oftentimes better than a master of one,” circulates widely online, usually described as the “original.”
Use it in a speech
You've been called a jack of all trades, master of none. Good. The world's hardest problems sit between the trades, and someone has to speak all their languages.
~10 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “master of none”
Best spotthe middle section
The proverb “jack of all trades, master of none” began as a neutral description in 1618; only later did it acquire its sting, and only recently its flattering sequel.
~10 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in writing
Best spotopening sentence
Questions people ask
What does jack of all trades, master of none mean?
A person who has tried many skills but has not become an expert in any one of them.
Is the original saying “better than a master of one”?
No. That ending is a modern addition. The earliest uses have no such line, and the 1700s versions are critical.
Is it a compliment or an insult?
Traditionally an insult. Today “jack of all trades” on its own is often used as praise for a versatile person.
Cite this quote
This is a traditional proverb, so it counts as common knowledge and most style guides don't ask you to cite it. If you want to say where it comes from, give the earliest known use: “Jack of all trades” first found in Geffray Minshull's Essays and Characters of a Prison (1618).