in the thick of
Right at center
In the thick of means right in the middle of something, especially at its most intense or active point.
The phrase suggests being surrounded by or deeply involved in action, chaos, or difficulty: We were in the thick of the battle when reinforcements arrived, She's in the thick of wedding planning right now.
The image is of dense vegetation or a crowd where you're fully immersed, not on the edges.
- midstCentral area within
- in the midst ofSurrounded by, during
- amongWithin a group
- in the middle ofLocated centrally within
- epicenterPoint above seismic origin
ground zero · eye of the storm · fray · chaos · knee-deep · crossfire · embroiled · war zone · press · crowd · enmeshed · front line · trenches · battle stations · immersed · action · melee · waist-deep
in the thick ofon the sidelines
Not in the action
uninvolved · on the outside looking in · disengaged · detached · out of the loop
in the thick ofon the fringes
in the background · outside · far from · off to the side · in the wings
thick, thicken, thickness, thicket, thickened, thickly, thickening, thicknesses