trade » trait

Chiefly in:   jack of all traits

Classification: English – /t/-flapping – idiom-related

Spotted in the wild:

  • Useful at being a jack-of-all-traits, Friberg was given full visual artistic authority on set in almost every stage. (Meridian Magazine, Mar. 8, 2003)
  • Another classic tenet in evolutionary ecology is that a generalist phenotype cannot excel in any particular function (i.e., a jack of all traits is a master of none). (Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, conference paper abstract, Jan. 2004)
  • While it appears that the business development person has to be a jack of all traits, this is far from the truth. (Oaktree Research, May 20, 2004)
  • Besides that, this program also hopes to develop the students into a jack-of-all-traits in other fields in addition to the academics. (doctorjob.com.my, July 28, 2004)

Makes sense, since someone skilled at a variety of tasks ought to be “multifeatured” as well.

(The example in the biology paper abstract above appears to be an intentional pun.)

See also traitor » trader.

| link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/07/20 |

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