maid-of-all-work

A maid-of-all-work dusts the furniture in the living room.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A female domestic servant who performs all types of household tasks: "maid-of-all-work" refers to a maid who is responsible for a wide range of chores, such as cleaning, cooking, and general housekeeping, rather than specializing in one area.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • In the 19th century, many households employed a maid-of-all-work to handle cooking, cleaning, and laundry. (A servant doing all domestic duties.)
  • She worked as a maid-of-all-work in a large estate, rising early to complete every task. (A maid with no specialized role.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be the maid-of-all-work": to be the person who does everything, often in a figurative sense.
  • In a small business, the owner often becomes the maid-of-all-work, handling sales, accounting, and customer service. (The person who does all tasks.)

Variants and Related Words

• Maid (n): a female domestic servant.
  • The maid cleaned the rooms every morning. (A servant, not necessarily doing all work.)
• Work (n): activity involving effort.
  • Hard work is required for this job. (General effort.)

Synonyms

• General servant: a servant who does all types of housework.
• Factotum: a person employed to do all kinds of work (often used for men or women).
  • He acted as a factotum for the company, handling errands and repairs. (A person doing many tasks.)

Related Idioms

• Jack-of-all-trades: a person who can do many different types of work (similar in meaning but gender-neutral).
  • He is a jack-of-all-trades, able to fix plumbing and paint walls. (A versatile worker.)

Phrasal Verbs

• (None directly associated with "maid-of-all-work" as a fixed phrase.)