up to their necks
2
6.7
- idiom
- Informal
- With all the projects due this week, I'm feeling like I'm up to my necks in assignments.
Examples
-
It is amazing the number of people that mortgage up to their necks and are now sending their kids to a private university with annual tuition of more than $50,000 per year!
Blog text (4) -
After the hurricane, the residents were up to their necks in debris and fallen trees.
-
And he had been right: the apartment suited them perfectly, and they were not up to their necks in real estate debt.
Fiction book (1993) -
Fay, we're both in this up to our necks.
-
They're in debt up to their necks, and they spend government money on bullying tourists?
Blog text (15) -
They were up to their necks in troubles after starting the new business without a proper plan.
Synonyms
55
4.8
Very interested and completely involved in something
29
7.8
In a bad situation that stops progress like being stuck in mud
19
5.3
Twisted together, like wires, or stuck in a difficult situation
16
3.9
Very involved in something, like work or problems
14
7.4
Too involved in a problem or situation to get out easily
14
6.9
Deeply involved in a difficult or public dispute
13
6.0
Closely connected with someone or something
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
4
7.5
Caught up in something so you cannot easily leave
4
7.9
Very involved in a difficult situation with too much to do
4
7.6
Very busy with difficult work or problems and almost overwhelmed
1
4.9
Surrounded by mist or cloud that makes it hard to see
Being very busy with a lot of difficult work or problems
Having too much work or too many problems to deal with
Very busy dealing with many difficult problems
Very busy with work or tasks and feeling overwhelmed
Antonyms
How Involved
Surface Forms
Morphology
up + to + their + necks
The phrase evokes a clear spatial metaphor (literally being submerged 'up to the neck') so a learner who knows 'up', 'to' and 'neck' can often infer the sense of being deeply involved or overwhelmed. However, it requires mapping the physical image onto an abstract state (involvement/trouble), so the connection is motivated but not fully compositional, making it only partially predictable despite cross-linguistic parallels.
Etymology
Up to their necks creates a clear picture: imagine water or mud rising up to your neck, so you can hardly move. That's why it means 'deeply involved' or 'overwhelmed' by a problem or too much work.