Upper Intermediate Work & Effort Proverb

У семи нянь дитя без глаза

U semi nyan ditya bez glaza

Literal translation

"With seven nannies, the child has no eye"

English equivalent

"When too many people are responsible for something, nothing gets done properly."

What does it mean?

Too many cooks spoil the broth

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When to use

Мы все пытались помочь, но у семи нянь дитя без глаза.

Example in use

Russian

We all tried to help, but too many cooks spoil the broth.

Translation

Use this to criticize poor results caused by excessive, uncoordinated supervision.

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Origin

Childcare

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Full history & cultural context

In old Russian households, if a child was left with too many nurses (nannies), each expected the other to watch the child, leading to total neglect.

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