To Have a Finger in Every Pie

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Meaning:

To have a finger in every pie means to be involved in many activities, to have influence over many different activities, often in a way that people do not approve of:

“Jee, don’t they have their fingers in everyone’s pies.”

Origin:

Sometimes it’s said in a positive way to compliment someone who has a variety of skills, interests, and talents, and other times it’s said in a negative way to point out that someone is an opportunist who only cares about what’s in it for them. In either case, however, the person with a finger in every pie usually has influence over the activities in which they are involved, and generally, it is frowned upon.

This phrase dates back to the sixteenth century. William Shakespeare used it in Henry (8) VIII in 1623, where the Duke of Buckingham complains of Cardinal Wolsey,

“No man’s pie is freed from his ambitious finger.”

Example:

Today we still see it mainly used as a negative to express someone is being nosey, pushy, or intruding where they do not belong. An example sentence is:

“Amber is always eager to have a finger in the pie if her neighbors are planning any type of party.”

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