irons in the fire

English

Etymology

Describing a blacksmith working on several pieces at the same time.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

irons in the fire pl (plural only)

1. Tasks in progress; involvement in ongoing projects.
   • 2024 January 24, Dyan Perry talks to Nick Brodrick, “The industry has given me so much”, in RAIL, number 1001, page 45:

     Although she plans to step back from the boards of NSAR and East West Rail, there are "a couple of other irons in the fire".

Usage notes

May be used with a positive connotation, e.g. "have other irons in the fire" (other projects are available if this one fails), or with a negative connotation, e.g. "too many irons in the fire" (overwhelmed by having too many tasks).

Translations

Translations

• Danish: have mange jern i ilden (da)
• Finnish: monta rautaa tulessa
• German: Eisen im Feuer n pl
• Icelandic: hafa mörg járn í eldinum, vera ekki við eina fjölina felldur, hafa margt í takinu, vasast í mörgu
• Norwegian Nynorsk: ha mange jarn i elden
• Polish: zadania n pl

See also

• have one's fingers in many pies
• wear too many hats
• spin plates