What is peanut-buttering?

Peanut-buttering is a term used to mean spreading resources too thin, whether money or manpower, in a manner such that it does not benefit the organization. It means, unlike what it suggests – thick creamy butter – that when it is spread, everyone has to make do with what he / she gets. A tight economy has seen taxes being peanut-buttered, so have companies managing on shoe-string budgets, and salary cuts have led to it at home. Peanut-buttering also happens when a company begins investing in too many things and thus has to stretch its cash reserves.