have too many irons in the fire

have too many irons in the fire

To have an excessive number of simultaneous activities or potential undertakings or opportunities underway. I have too many irons in the fire at work right now and it's going to be tricky to balance all of them over the next few weeks. Don't give her any more assignments right now—she has too many irons in the fire as it is.

See also: fire, have, iron, many

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

have too many irons in the fire

Fig. to be doing too many things at once. Tom had too many irons in the fire and missed some important deadlines. It's better if you don't have too many irons in the fire.

See also: fire, have, iron, many

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

irons in the fire, too many

Too many activities or undertakings at once. For example, Bill's got too many irons in the fire to cope with moving this year. This expression originally referred to the blacksmith heating too many irons at once and therefore spoiling some in the forging. [Mid-1500s]

See also: iron, many

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

irons in the fire, lots of/too many

More projects than one can handle. This expression comes from the smithy and has long survived the profession of blacksmith. The smith who tries to heat too many irons at once is apt to spoil the forging of some of them. It has been used figuratively since the sixteenth century.

See also: iron, lot, many, of

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer