IdiomBody & Senses
English
Englishin over one's head
Meaning: Involved in something beyond one's ability to handle.
Example: “She agreed to organize the whole conference and soon realized she was in over her head.”
Equivalents in other languages
Swedish: ta sig vatten över huvudet Literally: Take oneself water over the head
Origin: A drowning image from an age when swimming was far from a given skill: water rising over a person's head meant real, immediate danger, since a non-swimmer caught that far out had no way back to safety. The figurative sense — a situation too difficult or complex to manage — is on record by the early 1600s, transferring the physical helplessness of being submerged onto any circumstance that has gotten past what a person can handle, whether the water is real or not.
More English idioms
- lend someone an ear To listen to someone.
- like water off a duck's back Having no effect on someone.
- look down one's nose at someone or something To be snobbish about someone or something.
- make one's blood boil To cause someone to become extremely angry.
- make one's mouth water To make one salivate in anticipation of something good.
- millstone around one's neck A burden or handicap, or a source of worry or concern.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Attaccabottoni The person who corners you and holds you in an endless, tedious story you cannot politely…
- Menefreghista Someone who has made not caring into an entire stance — indifference as a way of life.
- Apericena The evening drink whose accompanying buffet is generous enough to replace dinner altogeth…
Keep exploring