🐿️ Up to One’s Ears: Swimming in Expressions 🌊
Definition:
Up to one’s ears/eyes/eyebrows, to be - To be completely engrossed or overwhelmed. These phrases, likening physical immersion in something to figurative engrossment, have been around for a long time. Richard Barnfield used “In love up to the eares” in The Affectionate Shepheard (1594). Anthony Trollope had “All the Burtons are full up to their eyes with good sense” in The Claverings (1866), about a century after the term came into use.
Similar Terms and Expressions:
Idioms:
- Up to one’s neck / chin: Similarly overwhelmed or heavily involved.
- In over one’s head: To be deeply involved in a situation that is beyond one’s ability to handle.
- Snowed under: Overwhelmed with too much work or responsibilities.
- Swamped: Overburdened with work or chores.
- Buried: Overwhelmed, with the connotation that you’re “buried” in work.
Proverbs and Common Phrases:
- “More than you can chew” 📏: This saying advises against taking on more than one can manage.
- “Keeping your head above water” 🌊: Struggling to maintain composure or manage one’s responsibilities.
Fun Quotes:
- “I’m up to my eyeballs in paperwork!”
- “I’m in so deeply, they’re going to need a shovel to dig me out.” - Anon
Suggested Reads and References:
Books:
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - An exploration of being overwhelmed by the insanity of war.
- Bleak House by Charles Dickens - You’ll feel swamped just like the characters navigating a challenging legal case.
Movies:
- Office Space 📠: An entertaining look at being overwhelmed in the workplace.
- The Devil Wears Prada 👠: Following a journalist who is up to her eyebrows in a chaotic job.
Music:
- “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie 🎤
Poetry:
- Emily Dickinson’s works often reflect themes of overwhelm and emotional intensity, particularly her poem “I Felt a Funeral in My Brain”.
### Which of these idioms means “to be deeply involved beyond one's capability”?
- [x] In over one’s head
- [ ] Jumping jacks in a pool
- [ ] Climbing a candy mountain
- [ ] Rainbow chasing
> **Explanation:** "In over one's head" means to be involved in a situation that is beyond one's control or ability.
### True or False: “Up to one’s eyebrows” means to be slightly involved in something.
- [ ] True
- [x] False
> **Explanation:** False. “Up to one’s eyebrows” means to be deeply involved or completely overwhelmed by something.
### Which phrase is used to signify being completely engrossed or overwhelmed?
- [x] Up to one’s ears
- [ ] Breathing through a kazoo
- [ ] Dancing on a moonbeam
- [ ] Rolling in butterscotch
> **Explanation:** "Up to one’s ears" implies being deeply involved or overwhelmed.
### What is a synonym for “up to one’s neck”?
- [ ] Light-hearted
- [ ] Breezing through
- [x] Buried
- [ ] Munching air
> **Explanation:** "Buried" is a synonym as it implies being overwhelmed or deeply involved, similar to "up to one's neck".
### Complete the idiom: *Up to my eyebrows in __________.*
- [ ] Stars
- [ ] Kittens
- [x] Work
- [ ] Pancakes
> **Explanation:** The phrase usually ends with something that indicates being overwhelmed or overly engaged, such as "work".
There’s no better way to wrap things up than with an insightful thought: “Life’s waves often rise up to our ears, but it’s in the swimming we find our strength.” - I. M. Swamped
🌊 Keep swimming, and farewell until our next dive into the wonderful world of language! 🌊
