A finger in every pie

Rosie:	Hi and welcome to The English We Speak. Today we're having an office party with the whole BBC Learning English team.
Helen:	And we're eating some delicious cakes and pies that Jen has baked for us. Have you tried the apple tart?
Rosie:	Mmm ... It's so tasty. Jen really has a lot of different skills, doesn't she?
Helen:	Yeah, she really gets involved in lots of different activities. She's always organising different parties, goes rowing ... and did you know she works as a weather presenter at the weekend?
Rosie:	And she's a good cook too—this blueberry crumble is delicious. She really does have a finger in every pie.
Helen:	Ugh, really? I mean they taste good, but now I know she puts her fingers in them ... I think I've just lost my appetite.
Rosie:	That's not what I meant when I said she has a finger in every pie. It means she gets involved in a lot of different things.
Helen:	So someone has a finger in every pie when they're involved in different activities? Is it a good thing then?
Rosie:	Well, in this case, when I said Jen has a finger in every pie, I meant it as a good thing, but it can sometimes suggest someone gets involved in things when they shouldn't.
Helen:	So it can be a good or a bad thing ... Let's have a look at some examples:

If you need any information just ask Annabel. She has a finger in every pie and always knows the answer.
At work I'm a teacher but I also do some accounting and organise the end-of-term play. I like to have a finger in every pie!
"I can't seem to do anything without him being there—yesterday I went to the photography club and he was there." "Well, unfortunately he does have a finger in every pie."

From his ambitious finger.

Helen:	So if someone gets involved in too many different things and people disapprove of this, it can be used as a criticism.
Rosie:	Yes, and Shakespeare used it in his play Henry VIII. In the play it's used as a criticism of someone who gets involved in everything when he shouldn't:
	No man's pie is freed
Helen:	So the person criticised here feels the need to put his 'ambitious finger' in every single pie that's baked to taste them all ...
Rosie:	Yes, which means he gets involved in things he shouldn't.
Helen:	But Shakespeare used the expression in a slightly different way from how we use it today. Now we just say someone has a finger in every pie.
Rosie:	Yes, it's slightly less poetic than "no man's pie is freed from his ambitious finger".
Helen:	Well, this is all very interesting, but I haven't tried the peach pie yet ...
Rosie:	Well, no pie is freed from Helen's greedy fingers, is it? Only joking, Helen!