shoulder the burden
Meaning: To take on a heavy responsibility.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The eldest sister shouldered the burden of caring for their father.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: A load carried on the shoulders. The phrase is common in English from the 19th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Polish: wziąć na barki — literally: to take on the shoulders
More idioms — Body & Senses
- give one's eyeteeth for something — To want something very badly.
- blush to the roots of one's hair — To go very red with embarrassment.
- not see beyond the end of one's nose — To have a narrow outlook and ignore anything beyond one's immediate concerns.
- many hands make light work — A job is easier when many people share it.
- right under one's nose — Very close, yet unnoticed.
- bend over backwards — To make a great effort to help or please someone.
More English idioms
- even Homer nods — Even the most skilled people sometimes make mistakes.
- gild the lily — To spoil something already perfect by adding to it.
- borrow trouble — To worry about problems that may never happen.
- act like one owns the place — To behave with arrogant disregard for others.
- once in a lifetime — So rare that it will probably happen only once.
- cook the books — To falsify figures, especially accounts.
From our compliments & insults
- Без царя в голове (Bez tsarya v golove) — Foolish and reckless — with no one in charge upstairs.
- Cabeça de alho chocho — A forgetful scatterbrain whose thoughts won't stay put.
- Tu es mon rayon de soleil — A warm way to tell someone they brighten your day.