英语俚语天天说 第67期:一瓶不满半瓶晃荡的人jack of all trades and master of none

 　　半瓶水.jpg

　　释义：

　　Having suitable skill in multiple¹ things, but not being an expert in any of them.了解很多事情，但是没有一件是擅长的；

　　来源：

　　The word 'jack²' can refer to the common man. Jack指一个人。Thus, a 'jack of all trades' meant a man who is competant at many different skills. Jack of all trades指的是一个错才多艺的人。The first half of the phrase was being used in the 1600s, 这个词组的第一部分刚开始是在16世纪使用的，and was apparently³ spoken in a complimentary⁴ fashion when describing people. 是用来赞扬某人。

　　An early example comes from a book published in 1612, titled Essays and characters of a Prison and Prisoners. 这个词组比较早的来源是1612年标题是Essays and characters of a Prison and Prisoners 的书中。

　　From what I could find, it looks like it was somewhere around the 1800s when the expression developed a less praiseful meaning, as that was when the 'master of none' part was attached to it. 慢慢地从18世纪开始，随着master of none的加入，这个词组的意思就慢慢不再表示夸奖了。

　　举例：

　　1.He seems to know almost everything, no wonder he is referred to as a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

　　他似乎对所有的事情都知晓，难怪人们称他为万事通，但其实他样样不精。

　　2. I was planning on earning an associate's degree in numerous⁵ subjects, but my family suggested to not be jack of all trades and master of none, so I had to rethink my future plans with college.

　　我准备去拿许多科目的副学士学位，可是我家人建议我不要变得万事皆通，但一无所长的人，所以我准备重新思考下大学的学习计划。

1 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

5 numerous   

adj.为数众多的；极多的

参考例句：

• There have been numerous exchanges of views between the two governments.两国政府间曾多次交换意见。
• There are numerous people in the square. 有许多人在广场上。