elbow-deep in
1
6.8
- idiom
- Informal
- She was elbow-deep in paperwork, trying to finish her project before the deadline.
Examples
-
Her arms were elbow-deep in soapy water.
Fiction book (1991) -
Three days I stayed there, just elbow-deep in his blood.
-
Sometimes when they camped near a stream and there was still light enough to see, he and Loial caught mountain trout, lying on their bellies, hands elbow-deep in the cold water, tickling the green-backed fish out from under the rock ledges where they hid.
Fiction book (1991) -
After the party, I was elbow-deep in leftover food and dirty dishes.
-
The children were elbow-deep in paint as they created their masterpieces.
Synonyms
55
4.8
Very interested and completely involved in something
23
3.6
Giving all your attention to something and not noticing other things
16
3.9
Very involved in something, like work or problems
14
4.5
Paying all your attention to something because you are very interested
5
7.7
Very busy with more work than you can handle
5
6.9
Very involved in a difficult situation that is hard to manage
Being very busy with a lot of difficult work or problems
Antonyms
How Involved
Surface Forms
Morphology
elbow-deep + in
The phrase literally combines 'elbow' + 'deep' + 'in' to evoke being physically immersed up to the elbows, and this spatial image readily extends to a figurative sense of being thoroughly involved. This compositional, image-based mapping is predictable for learners who know the constituent words and is similar to comparable body-part immersion metaphors in other languages, so a B1 learner can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Elbow-deep in comes from the image of someone with their elbow pushed deep into water, soil, or a pile of dishes or papers, so they are literally surrounded by the task. That's why it means 'deeply involved' or 'fully busy' with something.