Dictionary

a camel is a horse designed by a committee en · X

Etymology

The distinguishing features of a camel, like its humps, plate-shaped feet, habitual spitting, strange shape and poor temperament, can be seen as the sort of deformities that typify the sort of ideas that committees come up with that make projects bad.

Meanings

1. Too many people on one project can spoil it by having conflicting or inexperienced ideas.
   • A camel is a horse designed by a committee, so we hope that this committee will—and I think it will—function appropriately. 1952, Proceedings Regular Meeting, Ohio Valley Transportation Advisory Board, Pacific Northwest Advisory Board, page 24:
   • To quote another ancient proverb, "A camel is a horse designed by a committee." Life or Something Like It is the movie designed by the camel. 2004, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2005, Roger Ebert, Andrews McMeel Publishing, →ISBN, page 388:
   • Whoever concluded that a camel is a horse designed by a committee could have similar thoughts about taxicabs. 1976, Popular Science, v.209 1976 Jul-Dec:
   • "A camel," it has been said, "is a horse designed by committee." This might sound like a telling example of the terrible deficiencies of committee decisions, but it is really much too mild an indictment. 1998, The Possibility of Social Choice, Nobel Lecture, Amartya Sen
   • If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, what is a materials policy statement prepared by seven study teams? 1975, The Professional Geographer: The Journal of the Association of American Geographers, volume 27, page 132:
   • And we all know the saying, which is true as well as witty, that a camel is a horse that was designed by a committee. 1964, Peter and the Commissar, Allan Sherman and the Boston Pops
   • "You know what they say about committees, a camel is a horse designed by a committee - Honorable Mayor Lawrence Werther, Mayor of the Incorporated Village of Mineola, New York. 2011, January 5, 2011 Mineola, NY Village Meeting. original airdate January 5, 2011
   • "This is a presidential address, Andrea, not a camel (...) A camel! A horse built by committee!" (Toby Ziegler) 2002,The West Wing, episode Night Five, original airdate February 6th, 2002

Forms

Relateds

too many cooks spoil the broth · by committee

Translations (5)

ko 뱃사공이 많으면 배가 산으로 간다 (critique on committees) · ko 낙타는 위원회가 고안한 말이다 (critique on committees) · fi kameli on komitean suunnittelema hevonen (critique on committees) · fr trop de cuisiniers gâtent la sauce (critique on committees) · pl gdzie kucharek sześć, tam nie ma co jeść (critique on committees)