English Idiom – Up to your neck in something.
Very busy with something, or deeply involved in it. It can also mean having far too much of something, or being stuck in a difficult situation that’s hard to escape.
It’s usually negative – being overwhelmed – but it can be neutral if you’re busy with something you enjoy. Picture yourself standing in deep water right up to your neck!
- “My friend needs help – she’s up to her neck in debt.”
Other Versions:
- Up to your ears in something
- Up to your eyeballs in something
Similar Idioms:
- Too many irons in the fire – trying to do too many things at once.
- Too much on my plate – too many things to deal with.
Usage:
- You’re extremely busy at work.
- You’re working on lots of assignments at the same time.
- A friend has several serious problems at once.
Example:
- “My car broke down, my cat is missing and now the roof is leaking. I’m really up to my neck in it at the moment!”
In the News
Spotted in the news55-64s most likely to feel ‘up to their neck in debt’ as financial squeeze bitesaviva.comWhat is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
To be very busy with something, deeply involved in it, or stuck in a difficult situation.
“Up to your ears” and “up to your eyeballs” mean the same thing.
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