He wants to have a finger in every pie.
Meaning: Ambition to control multiple enterprises simultaneously often dilutes focus and prevents mastery of any single endeavor.
Origin: Shakespeare's Henry VIII (1613) has the Duke of Buckingham complain of Cardinal Wolsey that "no man's pie is freed from his ambitious finger." A finger in every pie belongs to someone who meddles in everything.
More proverbs about Wisdom
- He that would catch fish must not mind getting wet. — Success requires accepting the inevitable discomforts and risks inherent to your goal.
- The best fish are near the bottom. — Valuable things require effort and willingness to search deeper rather than accepting sur…
- I have other fish to fry. — Pursuing multiple important goals simultaneously means you lack time for additional commi…
- Make not fish of one, and flesh of another. — Treat all people with consistent fairness; don't favor some while dismissing others arbit…
- Fish are not to be caught by a birdcall. — Wrong tools waste effort; match your methods to your actual target.
- He fisheth on that catcheth one. — Success in any endeavor comes only to those who actually persist in the attempt, not mere…
From our idioms
- en dos patadas — very easily or effortlessly.
- ni a tiros — absolutely not; under no circumstances.
- a la buena de Dios — To proceed carelessly or without proper planning, leaving the outcome to chance or fate.