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Navitasan Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Too many cooks

1) Too many cooks spoil the broth.

This is a famous proverb. I think it means:
If there are too many cooks, the broth will be spoiled.

But is that sentence really grammatical?

It could mean: There are too many cooks out there who spoil the broth.

The intended meaning is 'Having too many cooks spoils the broth,'

'1' expresses that idea in a elliptical way. But is it strictly grammatical? Would it be acceptable in formal English?

Gratefully,
Navi.
  

Top answer

navitasan If there are too many cooks, the broth will be spoiled A clearer wording would be: If there are too many cooks, they will spoil the broth. Meaning they will have conflicting opinions or get in each other's way, and the end result will not be as good. This exact expression can be used in reference to all kinds of collaborative projects, not just cooking.

— Sijay

  • navitasan If there are too many cooks, the broth will be spoiled A clearer wording would be: If there are too many cooks, they will spoil the broth.
  • Meaning they will have conflicting opinions or get in each other's way, and the end result will not be as good.
  • This exact expression can be used in reference to all kinds of collaborative projects, not just cooking.
  • navitasan It could mean: There are too many cooks out there who spoil the broth.
  • Strictly speaking, yes—but since this is an established expression, you should infer the other meaning.
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1 Answers
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navitasanIf there are too many cooks, the broth will be spoiled
A clearer wording would be:

If there are too many cooks, they will spoil the broth.
Meaning they will have conflicting opinions or get in each other's way, and the end result will not be as good. This exact expression can be used in reference to all kinds of collab
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