One boy's half a boy...

"One boy's half a boy; two boys is no boy at all." -- Kenneth Reddick, Sr.

Meaning

The saying references the relative value of a young boy to complete his chores. A single boy, working alone, is only roughly half as effective as he should be. Adding a second boy to the equation might imply that their value would double, but the reality is that they're then so involved in cutting up and goofing off, that the two boys are of no value at all in relation to those chores.

Backstory

Ken would often say this to his son, Jonathon, when there were chores to be done and Jon would ask to have one of his friends come over to help.