Don't have too many irons in the fire. (16th century) (Citatboken)
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Avoid taking on too many tasks or projects at once
Literally: having multiple iron tools heating in the fire
Examples
She's trying to start a business, learn a new language, and get a degree, but I think she has too many irons in the fire
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Don't have too many irons in the fire. (16th century) (Citatboken)” mean?
Avoid taking on too many tasks or projects at once Literally: having multiple iron tools heating in the fire
Is “Don't have too many irons in the fire. (16th century) (Citatboken)” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.