A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

Jack of all trades • man of all work
Jack of all trades —
1
. a person who can do various types of
work: Wolfenden described the background of a typical rural
policeman. He has to be a Jack of all trades. 2. (derog.) a person
who can do many different things but is not good at any of
them: His critics sometimes described him as a jack-of-all-
trades.
man of all work —a servant expected to do all domestic
duties: He charged into the kitchen, bellowing loudly for
Celeste, the kitchen maid, and Bragon, the man-of-all-work,
her lover.
jacket potato • unpeeled potato
jacket potato —a whole baked potato with skin: After you
remove jacket potatoes from the oven, they lose their crispness
very quickly.
unpeeled potato —a potato (raw or cooked) with the skin
on: Boil unpeeled potatoes in water until tender, about 
1
5
minutes.
jar against something • jar on something • jar with
something
jar against something —
1
. strike smth. with a harsh unpleas-
ant sound: Her hands slapped on the floor, and her elbows
jarred against the cement. “Liz!” Michael yelled, “Are you ok?”
2. not match smth.; be out of harmony with smth.: Their ide-
alistic expectations of military service — travel, tuition and
adventure — jarred against the harsh realities.
jar on something —(of a disagreeable sound) have an unpleas-
ant effect on one’s nerves or ears: The noisy music jarred on
my nerves, the sight of the gaping crowd round the platform
irritated me.
jar with something — = jar against something 2: The “business
as usual” tone of the early post-tsunami messages jarred with
reality and the plight of many of the survivors.
jet lag • time lag
jet lag —extreme tiredness and sleep disturbance felt after a
long flight across different time zones: I discovered that I was
getting quite irritable — most likely a side effect of the jet lag.
time lag —an interval of time between two connected events:
The time lag between when the visa is issued and when the
immigrant lands varies among immigrants.