Meaning of Jill of all trades and mistress of none | Babel Free

Definitions

Noun. [C2]

Examples

“Every mistress of a household will understand my meaning when it is explained, that a young girl, having served in four or five different houses, will have done so in a different capacity in each. She will have been nursemaid, maid of all work, cook and housemaid, sewing maid, and consequently a Jill of all trades and mistress of none.”

“The German servant is, indeed, hopelessly uncouth, unhandy, and doggedly self-satisfied, Jill of all trades and mistress of none, and neat-handed Phillises are unknown in the scheme of Teuton creation.”

“WHAT is a sempstress? […] So far as we can make out, she is Jill of all trades and mistress of none. Dressmakers abuse her for taking work out of their hands, and upholsteresses say that she intrudes where she is not wanted. We shall class her here as the maker of underclothing; not only as an unskilled hand in her own home, but as a skilled machinist working for her daily bread in metropolitan factories.”

“It was to the last class that [Stéphanie Félicité,] Madame [de Genlis] belongs, and perhaps her boast of her knowledge of half-a-dozen languages, and her proficiency on no fewer than nine instruments, among them what Victor Hugo called “the bug-pipes,” and of her acquaintance with field labour and gardening, may simply mean that she was Jill of all trades and mistress of none; […]”

“That New York skirt dancer arrested for non-support of his family, who is a female impersonator and can paint, teach music, and do beautiful embroidery seems to be a Jill of all trades and mistress of none.”

“This is no time for dabsters, for half-trained, under-equipped girls and women. So much of the education girls receive tends to make them Jills of all trades and mistresses of none.”

“Mrs. [Blanche A.] Wheatley gives the following characteristic account of herself: […] I have a public school education supplemented by home study; am an inveterate reader, a verse-writer and newspaper contributor; a pen-and-ink-artist of some ability, and a real homebody skilled in every domestic art, including flower culture. I am, in fact, a ‘Jill-of-all-trades-and-mistress-of-none.’”

“Philosopher [L. A.] Woods would spread the learning thin and make Jills of all trades and mistresses of none out of our school teachers.”

“‘Oh, that. I sketch, I do a little clay modelling, engraving, lithography . . . I’m a Jill of all trades and mistress of none.’”

““Hermione Kiddle,” she said, when we had finished. “I belong to the Players. I’m wardrobe mistress, and secretary and treasurer and a lot of other things besides. Jill of all trades and mistress of none. That’s Hermione Kiddle.””

“D[orothy].H[ewett]. […] So I began to think, okay if I’m going to be writing all these things, how am I going to do it? I write short stories, I write poetry. I’ve written a novel and I want to write drama, I write articles. I’m going to end up a jill of all trades and mistress of none.”

“It’s a standing joke in my family about all my many majors. Not that I’m fickle, but because I enjoyed so many pursuits, I couldn’t decide. Yet none was inclusive of all my interests. I’m a “Jill of all trades,” and a mistress of none.”

“It is very illuminating that, unless an artisan’s daughter married a man in the trade that was carried on in her parental home, and of which she therefore had some knowledge, she would not be able to continue in this trade—but would be expected to adjust to her husband’s trade, and thus change her work-pattern. To be flexible in this way—jills of all trades and mistresses of none—may have had negative consequences on women’s work-performance.”

“Mr Kevin Elliott: […] By focusing on learning skill sets and moving away from trade qualification, Bill 55 risks flooding the construction marketplace with individuals who have limited skill set knowledge without fully appreciating all the facets of a particular trade; in short, Jacks and Jills of all trades and masters and mistresses of none.”

“Multi-skilling however can also have the negative effect of de-skilling the broadcast journalist, forcing her to compromise journalistic quality for the sake of technical excellence. Desktopping liberates women in that it abolishes the old studio-based, purely technical jobs usually held by men with engineering qualifications. Yet desktopping is a form of disempowerment for both men and women, since the journalist is forced to become a Jack (or Jill) of all trades and mistress of none, so her work may appear mediocre.”

“The lecture detailed typical problems with “girls” in the institution: […] As we look over our records and talk with the girls we learn that the majority of them have held varieties of jobs. As a result when they reach us they are veritable Jills of all trades and mistresses of none.”

“I contemplated counselling; I thought of social work; I considered teaching. The ordained ministry has given me plenty of opportunity to explore all of these. As a college chaplain I much enjoyed being a Jill of all trades and mistress of none.”

“I think I come across so scattered; maybe not scattered, but certainly a “Jill of all trades and mistress of none.””

““The problem with doing lots of things is that you are looked on as a Jill of all trades and a mistress of none,” she [Meera Syal] says.”

“I wonder what Joan [Rivers] puts down where it says “Occupation.” She’s tried everything but streetwalking, I assume. I guess she could put down “Jill of all trades, and mistress of none.” —MICK JAGGER”

“I was later to have a University life, a Chaplaincy life, a Psychotherapy life, a Church Ministry and a long Social Services life. One might say “Jill of all trades and mistress of none”.”

“‘What makes you think you’re not intelligent?’ […] ‘Not unintelligent…’ […] ‘Just…um…intellectually unfocused.’ […] ‘I suppose I tend to be a Jill of all trades and mistress of none,’ she finished lightly.”

“[Gretchen] Wilson received her first sheep as a birthday gift from her husband about 25 years ago and she has gradually learned how to spin, weave and make felt from the wool. “I say I’m a Jill of all trades and a mistress of none,” she said.”

CEFR level