maid of all work

English

Noun

maid of all work (plural maid of all work)

1. Alternative form of maid-of-all-work
   1. A general-purpose housemaid.
      • 1874 February, N. T. Munroe, “The W. Letters”, in The Repository, volume 51, page 89:

        So in living out, there is the maid of all work who scrubs the stove and scours the floor and rubs the knives and blacks the boots upon occasion, and in short, does any menial office required of her, and there is the housekeeper, presiding with all dignity over the household, who would perhaps scorn the idea that she was "living out." Yet is she not also at service? Somewhere between these two grades I find myself. I will only say I am some degrees above maid of all work, and yet I "live out."

      • 1877, Laura Valentine, The young woman's book: a useful manual for everyday life, page 91:

        As we hope our book may fall into hands by which some information on this subject may be required, we give here a brief summary of a female domestic's daily duties, beginning at the beginning—the maid of all work.

      • 1899 August, Abigail Powers, “Keeping House as a Business”, in The Puritan, volume 6, number 3, page 339:

        The average woman who is able to afford hired service at all has one maid of all work. If the family is large, it is necessary that part of the housework be done by the members of it.

   2. (figurative) Someone or something that serves many purposes.
      • 1886 June 8, The Indian Gardener, volume 2, page 233:

        If we may regard auratum as the queen of Lillies, it will be none the less fair to regard Specienum as the maid of all work, and a very pretty maid of all work it will perhaps be said.

      • 1889 May 30, “Evening Meeting, Samuel Gurney Shepherd”, in China's Millions, volume 15, page 110:

        I noticed last night that a very famous diplomatist, anxious to describe, in short but very pointed language, the services of a famous ambassador of our land, could find no other words than to say the he had been willing to be a "maid of all work" for the country.

      • 1903 April, Seton Churchill, “Financial Lessons from the Late War”, in Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, volume 47, page 423:

        It is obvious that when a company goes on active service, and a large number of young soldiers are taken out for transfer to the depot or to the home battalion, and a large number of men from the Army Reserve have to take their places and bring the company up to the increased war establishment, that the poor "maid of all work," the colour-sergeant, has a bad time of it. In addition to office work, a colour-sergeant has to look after drill, musketry, discipline, routine, orders, do his guards, etc.