
ProverbMorality
English origin1653
Everybody's business is nobody's business.
Meaning: When responsibility is shared by all, it often falls to none, leaving tasks undone.
Origin: Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler (1653) quotes "a wise friend" who used to say that what is everybody's business is nobody's business. A job that belongs to everyone is one that no one feels obliged to do.
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