“She takes the charge from day one!
Her sacrifices and her work stands tall
She is the mother the Jack of all trades!
And also the queen of them all!”
In a famous song, The big B Says how when you curse us it feels like blessing while when we bless you, it feels like curse! The essence there was rich and poor while it is understood that the curse or blessing is dependent on the relationship between the giver and taker! If they are good friends and cordial to each other then keeping other things aside, it is understood that among friends any wishes is blessing and among enemies, any interaction even if it is soft seems like curse!
In the same way some people can mistake a complement to be a curse or sarcasm because in this day and age, people take more pleasure in criticism than praise! The age of true praise is dwindling and anyone who praises is seen with doubtful eyes!
In that same way one of the biggest praise of yesteryears is now seen as a curse or not a compliment especially if you are good are many things!
Now If you are a person with a multitude of interests and passions and have the undying urge to explore new things and acquire more knowledge and different skills. If you want to do many things at a time and try to practice to excel in them then instead of praise you are sure to get a critical assesment!
You will be called “jack of all trades but master of none!”
It is a great defence for the narrow minded person to give a insult in form of a compliment! The fact that someone tries to do many things must actually be an inspiration for everyone to get out there and do more stuff! If you stop and start comparing then you will never get anywhere! Once you realise that there always be someone who can do better than you, then you must try to do stuff different or with more variety that him or her! So if you sketch well but someone can do better then write a blog and if someone is a better blogger than you then write a poem and you get the drift!!
Then the only competition you would have would be with yourself!
Now coming to this popular saying, it was initially meant to be a compliment!
Let us see how!
So the phrase dates back to the 14th century. At this time, the name Jack was typically used to describe an ordinary man. An example of this can be found in John Gower’s Middle English poem Confessio Amantis (1390).
“They seie, ‘A good felawe is Jacke’.”
It is said that these people were working-class and often had to supplement their meagre income by doing other jobs. For example, a builder would supplement his income by painting or farming. Thus, they were not particularly good at the extra jobs that they took on but they were good in one job and doing extra ones as a complimentary work!
So it could have meant that Jack was good in one work and not an expert in other work but still manageable!
The first places where the phrase was recorded was in Robert Greene’s 1592 booklet Greene’s Groats-Worth of Wit, where he refers to William Shakespeare as a “jack of all trades”!
This was because he worked on sets of plays and learned all of the jobs and roles that he could and would fill in wherever he was needed! And he used the area as his learning ground and became one of the most well-known playwrights in history! So he was expert in all! A compliment!
In fact Jack and Cracker if mixed together actually means an expert!
So someone who’s a crackerjack is really good at what they do. Like a crackerjack of a magician will amaze you with every trick he or she performs.
In fact the word can be used for any excellent thing or person — you might say, for example, that your new car is a crackerjack or compliment your friend on her crackerjack of a performance at the school talent show!
Now no one knows how the compliment became an insult but still if someone calls you a Jack of all trades then it is up to YOU to take it as a compliment or an insult because the person who says it may not realise the effort and dedication it takes to learn or do multiple things consistently and properly! The jack of all Trades as a compliment reminds me of this family of M S swaminathan who was responsible for the green revolution and his daughter and Birthday celebrity Soumya Swaminathan!
Now show your expertise in sleep!
Shubh ratri!
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