What Is Another Word for Jack of All Trades

Max.89

"Jack of all trades"

What does it mean?

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 15, 2014

Another translation for jack of all trades is the Latin word factotum. Is it used in Italian?

Yes it's quite common.
Also translated: tuttofare.

I am so glad you made your post because factotum was a vocabulary word in my homework and I had no idea what it meant!

I am a big fan of wikipedia- you can find almost anything. It is a good expression about jack of all trades- do you have a similar one in Italian?

A Presto,
StaceyLee

It is not the first time I have seen this expression: "He is the jack-of-all-trades".
I think the translation is "Il maestro del commercio", come dire, "uno che venderebbe ghiaccioli agli inuit"...

However, where does it come from? And what is its literal translation?
Does it refer to cards (Jack)?

Thank you in advance!!!

-Just a few minor corrections

No- I understand perfectly- very interesting!
We also have a word, handyman (or fix-it-man), for someone who can fix anything around the house. It is similar I think to a tuttofare but not as broad. However, a know-it-all has a negative connotation. It is someone who things they know everything about every subject.

I love all of the little things we learn from each other!

Here's the (Holy ) Devoto-Oli definition of factòtum s. m. "Persona cui, a torto o a ragione, è riconosciuto il merito di saper provvedere a tutto e a tutti. [Dalla locuzione imperativale latina fac totum 'fa' tutto!']" I love this!

As you can see from wikipedia's page on factotum, at first it is described as a mere know-it-all, but in the second paragraph he's described as someone who, thanks to his wide knowledge, arranges manages? things better than others do. This means that, if he's not a liar (and many factotums are, because factotums are very good spies!), he's a kind of "genio universal" (universal genius), like Leonardo da Vinci. He would be the quintessential factotum, or the living definition of factotum (even though he's dead!).

I give you also tuttofare "locuzione usata come sostantivo maschile o femminile. Espressione frequente negli avvisi economici per indicare la domestica a tutto servizio: donna a tuttofare. Per estensione, scherzoso, di persona dalle molteplici mansioni: ha una segretaria tuttofare." And you know you can't let a good girl go if she can do everything! hehe

You're right... I belive that cooperative learning is the way to a future which aren't requested doesn't require deep knowledges in only one field, but a large bunch of good knowledges good amount of knowledge in many fields. I cannot say if we're really going towards a future of Renaissance or Decadence, but I see improving in placese like wordreference our side-knowledges helps us becoming like factotum - that in the wikipedia's article are regarded as Renaissance (think of rin asci mento- first the a, then the i) men/women. [/quote] I think that is a wonderful way of putting it. I aspire to be a Renaissance woman, and I see I am in great company, so thanks to you, ILMarx!

I hope you do not mind that I made a few corrections. By the way, your English is outstanding!
-StaceyLee

In the English-Italian dictionary I have seen that jack of all trades in Italian can be tuttofare or factotum, but what about jack of all trades, master of none?

In English a "jack of all trades" is a person who is able to do different types of jobs, but when you refer to someone as a "jack of all trades, master of none" you are emphasising the fact that, although able to do many things, this person doesn't excel at anything in particular; hence this saying has a negative connotation.

Is there a similar saying in Italian?

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 15, 2014

Mary49

----- NUOVA DOMANDA -----

Riprendo questo thread per un aiuto sull'espressione in questione, ma separata nelle sue due componenti. Mi spiego: siamo nel campo della sociologia e della psicologia delle organizzazioni e il contesto è l'esame di un modello chiamato JD-R, che spiega le interazioni tra "richieste" (D) e "risorse" (R) nel lavoro (J) e i loro effetti su salute, benessere e performance dei dipendenti. Questo modello è molto usato, adattabile e, per così dire, generico; " ...as a jack-of-all-trades, the JD-R model is also a master of none: Its generality comes at the cost of lack of specificity... ". Io avrei tradotto così: "...quale strumento utile per tutto, il modello JD-R è anche uno strumento molto generico: la sua genericità va a scapito della mancanza di specificità, ...". Come si vede, ho dovuto adattare; qualcuno ha suggerimenti?
Vi ringrazio!

Last edited: Mar 18, 2015

Holymaloney