A nautical proverb, also used in variant forms in similar contexts: see the explanation in quot. 1902.

Did I not tell you never to fill both hands at once. Always keep one hand for the owners, and one for yourself.
[1799 Port Folio (Philadelphia, 1812) vii. 130]

The maxim, which says, ‘one hand for the owner, and t'other for yourself,’‥has saved many a hearty fellow from a fall that would have balanced the purser's books.
[1822 J. F. Cooper Pilot I. vii.]

The old rule on a yard is, ‘one hand for yourself and one for the ship,’ which means, hold on with one hand and work with the other.
[1902 B. Lubbock Round Horn 58]

I did not know then the old adage ‘one hand for oneself and one hand for the company.’
[1968 L. Morton Long Wake i.]

‘Now you allus remember the seaman's golden rule from now on, Mister Despytoff,’ Spew chastised gently. ‘One hand f'r the ship—or in your case, f'r the aeroplane, eh? heh, heh‥an' one hand f'r yerself.’
[1993 B. Callison Crocodile Trapp (1994) x. 169]

Related to: prudence; security

Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.

The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. Copyright © 1982, 1992, 1998, 2003, 2004 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.