trick of the trade
A shortcut or other quick, or very effective way of doing things, that professional workers learn from experience.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She taught me a clever trick of the trade for cooking.”
“The veteran carpenter showed the apprentice a useful trick of the trade to cut the wood faster.”
“By observing the master chef for years, he slowly mastered every subtle trick of the trade required to run a professional kitchen.”
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bag of tricks
A set of skills, techniques, items of information, or other resources used to help achieve professional or personal goals.
- 02
carriage trade
Wealthy or upper-class people in general.
- 03
do the trick
To work; to be successful; to solve a problem; to be sufficient or adequate to fulfill a purpose.
- 04
how's tricks
Informal greeting roughly equivalent to How are you? or How's it going?
- 05
jack of all trades
One competent in many endeavours, sometimes regarded as not excelling in any of them.
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jack of all trades, master of none
A person who has a competent grasp of many skills but who is not outstanding in any one.
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Jedi mind trick
A mental feat such as apparently inducing someone to act a certain way or reading someone's mind, achieved as if by magic or telepathy.
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jill of all trades
A woman competent in many endeavors rather than only one.
Last updated August 10, 2026