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oar in someone's boat

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Noun

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oar in someone's boat

  1. An interest in someone else's affairs, possibly through meddling.
    Synonym: stake
    • 1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “First Period. The Loss of the Diamond (1848). []”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. [], volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, [], published 1868, →OCLC, chapter XV, page 238:
      "Mr. Betteredge," he said, "as you have honoured me by taking an oar in my boat, and as you may, I think, be of some assistance to me before the evening is out, I see no use in our mystifying one another any longer, and I propose to set you an example of plain speaking on my side. []"