英语拾零: Jack\'s Idioms

Jack Related Idioms 
 

A good husband makes a good wife. and A good Jack makes a good Jill.
Prov. If a husband or man wants his wife or girlfriend to be respectful and loving to him, he should be respectful and loving to her.

Don't blame your wife for being short-tempered with you; you've been so unpleasant to her lately. A good husband makes a good wife.
 

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Prov. It is not healthy for someone to work all the time and never play. (Often used to exhort someone to stop working, or to justify why you have stopped working. You can substitute the name of the person you are addressing for Jack.)

Don't come to the office this weekend. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. I'd like to take a week's vacation next month. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
 

before you can say Jack Robinson and quicker than you can say Jack Robinson
Fig. almost immediately. (Often found in children's stories.)

And before you could say Jack Robinson, the bird flew away. I'll catch a plane and be there quicker than you can say Jack Robinson.
 

Every Jack has his Jill.
Prov. Every man will eventually find a woman to be his romantic partner.

Bill: I'll never have a girlfriend. None of the girls I take out will agree to a second date.
Fred: Cheer up; every Jack has his Jill.

 
jack someone around and jerk someone around
Sl. to give someone a difficult time; to harass someone.

Come on! Stop jacking me around! Max started jerking Lefty around, and it looked as if there was going to be trouble. You jack around everyone you know!
 
 
jack someone up
1. Sl. to excite or stimulate someone, possibly with drugs.

Tom jacked up his buddy by talking to him. Tom jacked up Fred with a lot of encouragement.
 
2. Sl. to motivate someone; to stimulate someone to do something.

The mail is late again today. We'll have to jack those people up at the post office. I guess I'll have to jack up the carpenter again to repair my stairs.
 
 
jack something up
1. Lit. to raise something up on a mechanical lifting device.

Now I have to jack the car up, so I can change the tire. Please jack up the car.
 
2. Fig. to raise the price of something.
 
The store keeps jacking prices up. The grocery store jacked up the prices again last night.
See also: up
 
jack around and jerk around
sl. to waste time.
 
Stop jacking around and get some work done!
 
The kids spend most of the day jerking around.
 

jack of all trades
someone who can do several different jobs instead of specializing in one.

John can do plumbing, carpentry, and roofing—a real jack of all trades. He isn't very good at any of them. Take your car to a certified engine mechanic, not a jack of all trades.
 
 
jack of all trades is a master of none
Prov. If you are able to do a lot of things fairly well, you will not have time to learn to do one thing extremely well.

Jill: I envy Bob; he can do so many things. He writes novels, paints pictures, makes sculptures, and even plays the dulcimer.
Jane: It's true he does a lot of things, but he probably doesn't do them all terribly well. A jack of all trades is a master of none, you know.
 
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.