in the weeds
Buried in details
In the weeds means overwhelmed by details or tasks, unable to keep up.
The phrase originated in restaurant kitchens, where a cook or server buried in orders falls dangerously behind: We got slammed at dinner and I was totally in the weeds.
It has spread to any work situation where someone is drowning in minutiae or losing sight of the bigger picture.
- slammedClosed with violent force
- rush hourBusiest commuting period
- order upRequest or announce ready
- intricacyState of elaborate complexity
- overloadBurden beyond capacity
stress · backlog · behind · muddle · understaffed · chaos · too many cooks · bottleneck · maze · labyrinth · multitasking · pressure · tangle · burnout · fire on all cylinders · snarl · distraction · convolution
- office jargonsynergy, circle back, touch base, deep dive, action item
- diner lingoAdam and Eve, eighty-six, 86, cup of joe, moo juice
- restaurant lingoeighty-six, all day, heard, behind, corner
- cookingbaking, chop, boiling, dice, mince
- burnoutburned out, burnt out, burn out, burning out, burnout
- idiomstime flies, ring a bell, break a leg, eat your words, raining cats and dogs
in the weedsin control
Managing with authority
ahead of the game · on the ball · in the driver's seat · killing it · cruising
in the weedsbig picture
Overall perspective on things
seeing the forest for the trees · zoomed out · bird's-eye view · high-level · strategic
in the weedsin the groove
Performing optimally, rhythmically
in the zone · firing on all cylinders · caught up · ahead of schedule · in the clear