There’s an Urdu name for a “Jack of all trades” that translates to “every talent Lord.” A Korean version is “eight direction beauty.” But my favourite name for someone who tries their hand at lots of different things is the Lithuanian Barbė devyndarbė. It means “Barbie nine jobs”
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https://bsky.app/profile/hhesterm.bsky.social/post/3li5ljmr6oc2d
Also the egg, milk, fur etc creature sounds like Al Capp's shmoo!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largo_al_factotum?wprov=sfla1
it's complicated
his name has thus become synonimous with multi-talented incompetence
oh, and its theme tune is heavily reminiscent of a certain hard rock anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ht_oVn_P8
Still, he got his cabbages.
I have used jackofallthumbs for years.
Might also want to have a look at new adaptations such as “T-shaped professionals” and “Treesigners”
Czech has devatero řemesel, desátá bída (“nine trades, the tenth… misery”)
And Dutch has twaalf ambachten, dertien ongelukken (“twelve trades, thirteen disasters”)
5. Hans Steam in all alleys (German)
4. Man of grape clusters (Hebrew)
3. Thousand-things artist (Swedish)
2. Kate for everything (Croatian)
1. Bangs master (Chilean Spanish)
Continued...
Just as it's critical for academics to embrace inter-, trans- and multidisciplinary knowledge in order to gain relevance.
Single skill is death in a complex world.
“Stiel” is dialect (and older meaning) for “ambacht” or “trade”. A “tradesman” is called a “stielman”. Basically a profession in menial labour that requires training and specialisation.,
“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.”
(trades)'
Likewise, "mouton à cinq pattes" (five-legged sheep) refers to...
1/3
A truer translation to "Jack of all trades", without the second part of the saying though, would be "touche-à-tout" :
2/3
Yer homme à tout faire is Mr. Do-Everything, not Mr. Do-Everybody.
It actually means it's better to be okay at a number of skills, rather than being an expert in just one.
"A jack of all trades is a master of none,
But is oftentimes better than the master of one"
It goes "Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one."
"Quien mucho abarca, poco aprieta" = "The one who covers widely, squeezes little"
Hans Steam of all streets.
In Dutch it is "het schaap met de vijf poten" - the sheep with the five legs".
7 trades 14 penuries
https://youtu.be/fXdj6fzjxak?si=zTA83Lv2wkoJNvj6
Except for the Korean version.
https://www.dwds.de/wb/Tausendsassa
Þúsundþjalasmiður
A carpenter with a thousand files (think nail file - but for wood)
“Jack of all trades but master of none is oftentimes better than master of one.”
I do prefer the addition though.
Rome wasn’t built in a day (but it burned in one)
Great minds think alike (but fools rarely differ)
Birds of a feather flock together (until the cat comes)
see also "the exception that proves the rule" - prove as in show proof, test, now an archaic usage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugh
It is about a person who knows everyone and parties everywhere, is rarely at home because partying and hanging out with friends is their 1st priority.
But we have "Kann alles aber nichts davon ↘️
That would nail Jack of all trades better I guess.