Where every hand fleeceth, the sheep go naked.

Understand the thought

Meaning in plain English

When many people take from the same limited resource, their combined demands can exhaust it. Consider the total burden, not only how small each individual request appears.

What the words are saying

Each hand removes fleece, until the sheep is left with none. The image makes accumulation visible: a single act may seem limited, but many similar acts can strip the resource on which they all depend. Figuratively, several groups may each claim a little of a shared budget, space or person’s time without considering the combined effect. The saying asks for coordination and an account of the whole. It does not mean every request is selfish or that the resource should never be used. Agree what it can sustain, which needs matter and how to distribute the demands fairly.

Everyday example

Several teams each request a short weekly task from the same volunteer; they combine the rota and discover that the supposedly small requests exceed the available hours.

When to use it

Use it when separate reasonable-looking requests are accumulating against one limited resource.

Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.