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)

Tasks in progress; involvement in ongoing projects.

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

Danish: have mange jern i ilden
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

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