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• plain Jane
  plain Jane

  noun

  a drab, unattractive, and generally uninteresting girl or woman.
• plain-Jane
  plain-Jane

  adjective

  simple and modest; unadorned; basic.

plain Jane

¹ American  

noun

Informal.

1. a drab, unattractive, and generally uninteresting girl or woman.

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plain-Jane ² American  

[playn-jayn] / ˈpleɪnˈdʒeɪn /

Or plain-jane

adjective

Informal.

1. simple and modest; unadorned; basic.

   a plain-Jane car dressed up with leather upholstery.

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Etymology

Origin of plain Jane¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of plain-Jane²

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plain Jane plain-Jane

“It’s pretty boring when it’s just plain Jane black-and-white shoes. I like to spice my shoes up a little bit, add some extra flair.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

It might be a more elegant solution to having a “time well-spent” phone than picking up a plain Jane feature phone or backing a Kickstarter for an in-betweener phone.

From The Verge ● Oct. 15, 2018

He took a plain Jane, '50s ranch house and turned it into a stylish 21st century home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2015

Henry alights on wife No. 3, the plain Jane Seymour of Wolf Hall.

From Slate ● May 4, 2012

As he had wi his owd plain Jane.

From Yorkshire Lyrics Poems written in the Dialect as Spoken in the West Riding of Yorkshire. To which are added a Selection of Fugitive Verses not in the Dialect by John Hartley

And we’ll be back with more advice in the spring when Apple introduces the plain-Jane iPhone 18 and a new iPhone Air.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

For me, the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed an unprecedented siege of self-criticism that began when I was an awkward 13-year-old with a mouth full of metal and plain-Jane brown hair.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2023

They make the plain-Jane mangu more attractive, lending the mash a saltiness and richness that are not part of its natural personality.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 22, 2015

Line frequently used by Michael in reference to George Michael's plain-Jane girlfriend Anne, whose name he regularly forgets, though he also on occasion calls her "Egg".

From The Guardian ● May 25, 2013

At a Democratic rally in Hyde Park last week, she wore a plain-Jane teal jacket and windowpane shawl.

From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2010