Skip to main content

To Have a Finger in Every Pie

 

To Have a Finger in Every Pie

Watch this on YouTube here - Fingers Video - YouTube Video


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.”


Watch this on YouTube here - Fingers Video - YouTube Video



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eat Us Out Of House and Home

  Eat Us Out Of House and Home Watch this on YouTube here - Home Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Eat Us Out Of House and Home means that the food and resource have been depleted.  “The Football team has eaten out of house and home” Origin: This phrase has been around for a while; it was first written in the ( Thesaurus Linguae Romanae Britannicae), a glossary by Thomas Cooper in 1578; it read: “To eate out of house and home: to waste and consume his substance, money etc.” This idiom became quite popular after William Shakespeare started using it in his play Henry IV(4 th ) Part II , in 1597 it read: “It is more than for some, my lord; it is for all, all I have. He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his.” Example: Since then, the phrase to eat us out of house and home has been a regular idiom that we hear quite often; it is a way of expressing that a lot of resources seem to be used up when people come to visit. An exa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shooting Fish In A Barrel

  Shooting Fish In A Barrel Watch this on YouTube here - Fishy Idioms - YouTube Video Meaning: When a simple task needs to be done and there is guaranteed success in the task. A simple activity. Example Sentence: "The size of my apartment is relatively small, so keeping it nice and tidy is  like shooting fish in a barrel ." Origin:      The earliest instance found of this phrase was in a column called By the By! on February 11th, 1902. The column tells a story about 2 men - a high-end tea taster and a man drinking alcohol. the tea tester says that the man drinking alcohol can't tell what he is drinking after only 2 drinks. The drunk man replies "Oh yes I can, and what more I can tell you the brand of alcohol with certainty."  The tea tester takes the bet. After the drinking test was over the drunk man won. He was asked, "How on Earth did you do it?" He replied, "Just as simple as shooting fish in a barrel."      This saying originates from b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Break A Leg

Break A Leg    Watch this on YouTube here - Luck Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Break A Leg is an encouragement to actors before they go on stage or in front of an audience as a way of saying good luck.  “Ooh, break a leg out there.” Origin: Theatre actors are well known for their belief in superstitions, one of them is, - do not to utter the words 'good luck' to an actor. - Instead, by wishing someone bad luck, it is supposed to be that the opposite will occur. The term 'break a leg' appears to come from that belief. Before break a leg became a theatrical way of wishing someone good luck is was used to mean - make a strenuous effort- with many old records. Like “break a leg trying” The earliest record of Break a leg in a theatrical way was in 1948 from a US newspaper The Charleston Gazette, in the 'Ask The Gazette' column, the question asked was: Q. What are some of the well-known superstitions of the theatre? A. Superstitions of the stage are numerous, and man...
Post a Comment
Read more