English · Proverb Candidate

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.

Topics: Fire

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.

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