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

“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

To one of these, young and beautiful—and, therefore, certainly not the plain Jane Seymour—the King was supposed to have paid attentions.

From The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon The Story as Told by the Imperial Ambassadors Resident at the Court of Henry VIII by Froude, J.A.