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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  

[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

I’ve always been the plain Jane of my friend groups.

From Slate • May 13, 2021

A plain Jane rivals her glamorous sister for a handsome guy at a country-club dance.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2020

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 falls in love with Jane Seymour, a quiet, enigmatic girl for whom the phrase "plain Jane" was first coined.

From Seattle Times • May 4, 2012

In her brown dress, with her hair combed straight back, she was plain Jane Judd again.

From Cinderella Jane by Cooke, Marjorie Benton