Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) without unnecessary adornment, ‘no frills’.

1907		Bendigo Indep. (Vic.) 1 May. 6/2: ‘Well, take him to the kitchen and plant him on the rug in a plain-Jane-and-no-nonsense manner, and Elspeth’ll swallow him, I bet’.
1930		Land (Sydney) 7 Mar. 13/1: Not a bit o’ trimming, not a frill or a fancy, can I indulge in just ‘plain Jane, no nonsense’ from start to finish - and I do so love a bit of foolishness, too!
1939		Sydney Morn. Herald 16 Jan. 3: [advert] Gone are the days when handbags were ‘Plain Jane and no nonsense’ affairs, designed expressly for business and not for pleasure of the user or beholder.
1942		Goulburn Eve. Post (NSW) 1 Oct. 4/2: [advert] In Grandma’s day Aprons were Aprons. They were ‘plain Jane and no nonsense’.
1954		Mercury (Hobart) 18 Sept. 20/5: The old days when there was nothing between the ‘Plain Jane-No-Nonsense’ type of shoe for the growing girl, and the sophisticated styles of the adult have gone forever.
1974		Canberra Times (ACT) 8 May 4/2: ‘My part in “Fair Go” is very much a straight-Jane, no-nonsense one. There is some very funny comedy in the show,’ she said.