IdiomDaily LifeRussian

один с сошкой, а семеро с ложкой (odin s soshkoy, a semero s lozhkoy)

Meaning: many people live off the labor of one worker.

Literally: One with a plow, and seven with a spoon

Example: “В этом отделе один с сошкой, а семеро с ложкой.” — In this department, one person does the work and everyone else lives off it.

Origin: A peasant saying: the сошка is the light wooden plow, the symbol of hard work on the land, and the spoon stands for those who only eat. One person plows while seven wait to be fed. Russian Wiktionary classes it as a saying from village life, and it is often used as a proverb about one worker supporting many.

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