Common Italian expression
| Literally | To put too much meat on the fire |
| Meaning | Taking on too many tasks at once, which makes it hard to complete any of them well |
| IPA pronunciation | /ˈmɛttere ˈtrɔppa ˈkarne al ˈfwɔko/ |
Mettere troppa carne al fuoco
To bite off more than you can chew
Literally: To put too much meat on the fire.
Mettere troppa carne sul fuoco is also used and heard, but it’s much less common. The meaning is the same.
Examples
Se hai messo troppa carne al fuoco, significa che hai cercato di fare troppe cose contemporaneamente.
If you put too much meat on the fire, it means you tried to do too many things at once.
Mercoledì vai in palestra, giovedì alla lezione di tiro con l’arco, venerdì hai danza e sabato la lezione di pugilato… non pensi di star mettendo troppa carne al fuoco?
On Wednesday you go to the gym, on Thursday to archery class, on Friday you have dance class and on Saturday boxing class. Don’t you think you’re biting off more than you can chew?
Where does this idiom come from?
Meat needs space to cook well. If you put too many pieces of meat on the fire, none will cook well. By the same reasoning, if you try to do more activities (attività) than your mind or body can sustain you will end up finishing none.
Related lessons
- mettere (to put)
- carne (meat)
- fuoco (fire)
- troppo (too much)
- a (preposition)
- prepositions
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