The phrase, jack of all trades, describes a particular kind of person. Jack is a very common name, originally a nickname (a diminutive in linguistics) for John. Jack represents “the common man” and appears in many English phrases and names, such as jack-in-the-box and Jack Frost. A trade is a profession. So, a “Jack of all trades” […]

To run the gauntlet means to go through a frightening, difficult, or dangerous series of challenges or confrontations. This modern meaning is a metaphor, based on an old military tradition, in which a soldier runs between two lines of men who beat him with sticks or ropes (for example). This could be a form of punishment […]

A train of thought refers to a sequence of connected thoughts, whether happening naturally in one’s mind, or in an argument or presentation:         When the phone rang, it interrupted my train of thought.         I cannot follow the train of thought in this article; it makes no sense.         What train of thought leads to this conclusion? Surprisingly, this phrase […]

The phrase, cut-and-dried, has several meanings. The oldest meaning is “already fully prepared” but today, it is often interpreted as unambiguous, “according to plan”, formalized, etc. It means that there is nothing left to chance, questioning, or creativity. Like a mathematical procedure. The original meaning, in 17th Century England, was based on the use of […]

Each of these three words has several meanings. Break out is a phrasal verb, breakout is a noun, and break-out is an adjective. As with many other English words, the adjective can also be spelled breakout, sometimes. This is a common pattern in English. For example, throw away (verb), throwaway (noun), and throw-away/throwaway (adjective). The pattern is not universal, but is […]