Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Dutch term or phrase:
duizendpoot
English translation:
jack of all trades
Dutch term
Belgium
duizendpoot
This is from a text from Belgium. I'm looking for a creative translation for 'duizendpoot', used in a positive sense. 'Jack-of-all-trades' is a bit negative and 'man friday' seems to describe someone who is merely a general dogsbody. In the text, the person referred to is competently managing multiple tasks and functions.
Any suggestions welcome! TIA!
| 4 +8 | jack of all trades |
Katja van Hellemond
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| 3 +3 | all-rounder |
L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
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| 3 | multi-tasker |
Kalyani Jog
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Jan 11, 2009 13:27: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Idioms / Maxims / Sayings" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
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Proposed translations
Portugal
E-mail: [email protected]
Native in: Dutch 
Works in: English to Dutch, Dutch to English, Portuguese to Dutch, and 1 more.
jack of all trades
deze clown is een muzikale duizendpoot
this clown is a musical jack-of-all-trades
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Note added at 9 mins (2009-01-11 12:24:27 GMT)
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factotum is another suggestion, concise oxford lists reads: an employee who does all kinds of work, 'master of everything'.
| agree |
jarry (X)
2 hrs
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thanks jarry
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| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: There is nothing negative about jack of all trades.
3 hrs
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thanks tina
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| agree |
Lianne van de Ven
3 hrs
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thanks lianne
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| agree |
Anja Thys
4 hrs
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bedankt anja
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| agree |
Kitty Brussaard
: This term seems to be rather commonly used in job descriptions/advertisements to refer to someone who is multi-skilled/multi-talented :-)
9 hrs
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thanks kitty
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| agree |
Neil Cross
11 hrs
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thanks neil
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| agree |
vic voskuil
12 hrs
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bedankt vic
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| agree |
LouisV (X)
17 hrs
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bedankt louis
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Native in: English 
, Marathi
Works in: Dutch to English, Marathi to English, Hindi to English
multi-tasker
| disagree |
jarry (X)
: Multi-tasking means dealing with more than one task at the same time. To Wessel: Your 'agree' to 'multi-tasking' seems to be somewhat contradictory, bearing in mind your own suggested answer.
6 hrs
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| agree |
L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
: So Jarry, is this not what the man does? He handles It systems, is a project co-ordiantor and a small agency. He is obviously a very good manager too!
6 hrs
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South Africa
Willing & Ready to be of service to YOU!
Native in: English , Dutch
Works in: Dutch to English, Afrikaans to English, French to English, and 3 more.
all-rounder
| agree |
Christopher Smith (X)
: Of the suggestions so far, I like this the best
9 mins
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Thanks.
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| agree |
Saskia Steur (X)
: and with Christopher
10 mins
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Dank je wel
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| disagree |
jarry (X)
: Given the additional information provided I have to disagree with this answer. An all-rounder is used in sport (such as in cricket). IT is not a trade? Have a look here: http://www.zibb.com/publicsvc/theme/p/Information Technology...
1 hr
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You should also disagree with a jack of all trade as IT is not a trade!
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| neutral |
Lianne van de Ven
: I think of an all-rounder as broad and good but within one field, while the duizendpoot is typically good & handy at different things
2 hrs
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| agree |
Kitty Brussaard
: Is used in job descriptions/advertisements to refer to a versatile and multi-skilled/multi-talented person, as in 'office all-rounder'. / 'Jack of all trades' is another option, also for 'white collar' jobs (cf. Google) :-)
9 hrs
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Bedankt Kitty. Jack of all trades is 'n beschrijving voor iemand die heel wat met zijn HANDEN kan doen bv. houtwerk, bouwwerk, herstellen van een motor, verven, een glas vervangen edm.
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| agree |
Neil Cross
: Although originally a cricketing term, it is, as Kitty says, quite often seen in job descriptions etc.
10 hrs
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Thanks Neil. Jack of all trades is 'n beschrijving voor iemand die heel wat met zijn HANDEN kan doen bv. houtwerk, bouwwerk, herstellen van een motor, verven, een glas vervangen edm.
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