Adding to this to say “Jack of all trades” also hasn’t changed its meaning. The “But master of none” seems to be a latter addition, and doesn’t really negate the original meaning of “being capable in a lot of trades”. Additionally, there is some belief that there is a following third part “but oftentimes better than a master of one” rehighlighting the value of being skilled in multiple “trades”.
I feel like “Jack of All Trades, Master of None” does negate the meaning of “Jack of all trades”. The Wiki article you linked to even points this out.
“The “master of none” element … made the statement less flattering to the person receiving it… “Jack of all trades, master of none” generally describes a person whose knowledge, while covering a number of areas, is superficial in all of them.”
The original phrase meant someone who was competent in a lot of different areas, a well rounded person. The ‘Master of None’ is someone who has superficial knowledge in a lot of areas, but isn’t really proficient in any of them.
It’s basically the early form of “The Dunning-Kruger Effect”. It describes someone who thinks they are great because they have some knowledge in a lot of areas, but not enough to realize how far away they are from truly understanding any of them.
The original comment was “truncating the phrase reverses the meaning”, so “Jack of all trades” - > extended “Jack of all trades, master of none” - > truncated “Jack of all trades” doesn’t actually change anything.
RememberTheApollo_ said “so many phrases get truncated and used to mean the opposite of what they originally intended.” not “so many phrases get truncated which changes the meaning to be the opposite of what they originally intended.”
Calling someone a “Jack of all trades” never lost it’s original meaning, that part is true.
Calling someone a “Jack of all trades, master of none” does change the meaning.
If you simply say “Jack of all trades…” but mean “Jack of all trades, master of none” that also changes the meaning.
The phrase with the “master of none” element is sometimes expanded into a less unflattering couplet with the second line: “but oftentimes better than a master of one” (or variants thereof), with some sources (who?) stating that such a couplet is the “original” version, with the second line having been dropped. Online discussions attempting to find instances of this second line dated to before the twenty-first century have resulted in no response, however.
I’ve never in life heard someone say that 3rd line. It should also be noted that even on the Wikipedia article about this speculation, they don’t link to a single source. I believe that line is a purely modern invention.
Even in the post I was replying to Jacksilver says “The “But master of none” seems to be a latter addition”. The fact that it’s a later addition is mentioned in the article as well. How could ‘The Full Phrase’ include a later addition if it was “the original”?
If the intention is to be the same as the original meaning, it weakens it. Why throw a little shade in there (master of none) if you are tying to compliment someone?
Even if that were ‘The Full Saying’ leaving that part off changes the context, so “Jack of all Trades, Master of None” absolutely has a different connotation that ‘The Full Saying’.
Adding to this to say “Jack of all trades” also hasn’t changed its meaning. The “But master of none” seems to be a latter addition, and doesn’t really negate the original meaning of “being capable in a lot of trades”. Additionally, there is some belief that there is a following third part “but oftentimes better than a master of one” rehighlighting the value of being skilled in multiple “trades”.
Source - Wiki Jack of all trades
I feel like “Jack of All Trades, Master of None” does negate the meaning of “Jack of all trades”. The Wiki article you linked to even points this out.
The original phrase meant someone who was competent in a lot of different areas, a well rounded person. The ‘Master of None’ is someone who has superficial knowledge in a lot of areas, but isn’t really proficient in any of them.
It’s basically the early form of “The Dunning-Kruger Effect”. It describes someone who thinks they are great because they have some knowledge in a lot of areas, but not enough to realize how far away they are from truly understanding any of them.
One is a compliment, the other is an insult.
The original comment was “truncating the phrase reverses the meaning”, so “Jack of all trades” - > extended “Jack of all trades, master of none” - > truncated “Jack of all trades” doesn’t actually change anything.
I’m not sure what you are trying to say .
RememberTheApollo_ said “so many phrases get truncated and used to mean the opposite of what they originally intended.” not “so many phrases get truncated which changes the meaning to be the opposite of what they originally intended.”
Calling someone a “Jack of all trades” never lost it’s original meaning, that part is true.
Calling someone a “Jack of all trades, master of none” does change the meaning.
If you simply say “Jack of all trades…” but mean “Jack of all trades, master of none” that also changes the meaning.
The full saying goes: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
That really drives home the point
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_all_trades#Other_quotation_variants
I’ve never in life heard someone say that 3rd line. It should also be noted that even on the Wikipedia article about this speculation, they don’t link to a single source. I believe that line is a purely modern invention.
Even in the post I was replying to Jacksilver says “The “But master of none” seems to be a latter addition”. The fact that it’s a later addition is mentioned in the article as well. How could ‘The Full Phrase’ include a later addition if it was “the original”?
If the intention is to be the same as the original meaning, it weakens it. Why throw a little shade in there (master of none) if you are tying to compliment someone?
Even if that were ‘The Full Saying’ leaving that part off changes the context, so “Jack of all Trades, Master of None” absolutely has a different connotation that ‘The Full Saying’.