put one's oar in

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Idioms and Phrases

Interfere with something or insert one's opinion, as in I'll thank you not to put your oar in when we're discussing a private matter . This term, referring to helping to row a boat, was first recorded in Charles Coffey's 1731 play The Devil to Pay : “I will govern my own house without your putting in an oar.”

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April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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