up to one's neck in alligators
- idiom
- Informal
:
hasta el cuello en problemas
- I'm up to my neck in alligators with these deadlines!
Examples
-
After the meeting, I felt up to my neck in alligators.
-
We're up to our necks in alligators trying to finish all these reports before Friday.
-
After the new client arrived, I was up to my neck in alligators for weeks.
-
At tax time, accountants are often up to their necks in alligators.
-
After the new client arrived, I was up to my neck in alligators for weeks.
-
At tax time, accountants are often up to their necks in alligators.
-
We're up to our necks in alligators trying to finish all these reports before Friday.
Synonyms
135
3.5
Be unable to cope with a large amount of something, for example work
4
6.9
Very involved in a difficult situation that is hard to manage
3
7.6
Very busy with difficult work or problems and almost overwhelmed
2
7.9
Being very busy with a lot of difficult work or problems
2
6.7
Very involved in a difficult or serious problem
1
7.9
Very involved in a difficult situation with too much to do
1
4.4
You have too much work and not enough time
1
6.9
Very busy with work or tasks and feeling overwhelmed
Having too much work or too many problems to deal with
Very busy with more work than you can handle
Antonyms
How Involved
2
5.1
- Informal
1
4.4
- Informal
1
6.9
- Informal
- Informal
3
7.6
∞
1.0
79
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
up + to + one's + neck + in + alligators
The component 'up to one's neck' clearly signals deep immersion and 'in' shows being surrounded, so a learner who knows the words can often infer a sense of being overwhelmed. However, 'alligators' is a metaphorical, culture-specific choice that adds the idea of danger/problems and is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so the exact nuance may require prior exposure.
Etymology
Up to one's neck in alligators creates a picture of a person standing in water with the water up to their neck and alligators all around. So, just as that person would be stuck and fighting to survive, the phrase now means 'very busy and overwhelmed by problems'.