plain Jane

¹ American  

noun

Informal.

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

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plain-Jane ² American  

[pleyn-jeyn] / 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

Or maybe you saw the recent Food52 announcement about bidding farewell to PFAS-based chemically coated nonstick, or the many social media ads for direct-to-consumer nontoxic, nonstick cookware, and are wondering if those pastel-colored pans are preferable to their plain Jane black-and-gray predecessors.

From Salon

"Regional banks are more Plain Jane and they do a lot more mortgage business and credit deposit business than say what a Citigroup does," said Brad Lamensdorf, co-portfolio manager of Ranger Equity Bear ETF.

From Reuters

“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

The relationship is actually quite a bit more plain Jane than a lot of other relationships in the show.

From Los Angeles Times

“I come at it from a handicapper’s perspective. I try to see the race as I would if I was handicapping it. I have always tried to anticipate, to an extent, what is going to happen in a race. And I try not to be plain Jane and go first, second, third, fourth, fifth. I try to be descriptive as well.”

From Seattle Times