“Too many cooks spoil the broth”: meaning, origin and examples
What it means
The phrase means that when too many people are involved in a task or activity, especially when they give conflicting opinions, it can become complicated or result in failure.
Tone The tone is cautionary and advisory, warning against involving too many people in a task.
Where it comes from
The phrase is a proverbial saying dating back to at least the 16th century, highlighting an idea present in many cultures about collaboration overload leading to inefficiency.
Examples
- The project failed because too many cooks spoiled the broth with everyone trying to implement their own ideas.
- When organizing the event, we kept the team small, as we believed too many cooks would spoil the broth.
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