ta sig vatten över huvudet
Meaning: Get in over one's head; take on more than one can manage.
Language: Swedish
Literally: take oneself water over the head
Category: Nature
Origin: The phrase pictures someone wading into water until it rises above their head, a vivid image of losing footing and control.
More idioms — Nature
- tidens tand — The slow decay and wearing away of things through the passage of time, the gradual damage…
- djungelns lag — Survival of the fittest; a state of lawlessness where brutal competition and violence det…
- gräva sin egen grav — To cause one's own ruin or downfall through foolish actions.
- på hal is — In a precarious or dangerous situation that one cannot control or easily escape.
- mitt på ljusan dag — In broad daylight; openly and obviously, not in secret.
- trzęsienie ziemi — A sudden, violent upheaval or catastrophic disruption in society, politics, or personal c…
More Swedish idioms
- under kniven — Undergoing surgery, or under intense pressure to perform.
- fjällen falla från någons ögon — To suddenly understand something that was previously hidden or obscured.
- en koloss på lerfötter — Something that appears powerful and impressive but rests on a fundamentally weak foundati…
- köra med — To tease, bully, or push someone around.
- sätta till alla klutar — To make a maximum effort or remove all restraints in pursuit of something.
- falla till föga — To surrender one's position or resistance; to give in.
From our untranslatable words
- Torschlusspanik — The anxious fear that time is running out — that the gates of opportunity, youth, or life…
- Kummerspeck — The weight you gain from emotional eating — the extra pounds that accumulate during heart…
- Fremdschämen — The vicarious embarrassment you feel for someone who is doing something cringeworthy — ev…