neck-deep
In over head
Neck-deep describes being immersed up to the neck in something, whether literal or figurative.
Most often it suggests being overwhelmed or heavily involved: neck-deep in debt, neck-deep in paperwork, neck-deep in scandal.
The image conveys both depth and difficulty—you're in so far that movement is restricted and escape requires effort.
Loyally and lovingly attached
- dedicatedWholly committed to something
- investedAllocated funds strategically
- pledgedFormally promised something
- boundSecured or destined
entangled · embroiled · implicated · enmeshed · involved · tied-up · entrenched · complicit
Below water's surface
- engulfedCompletely swallowed up
- plungedDropped suddenly and steeply
- steepedSaturated by soaking
- absorbedTook in fully
drenched · soaked · saturated · engrossed · buried · entrenched · enmeshed · enveloped
devoted
Loyally and lovingly attached
- dedicatedWholly committed to something
- investedAllocated funds strategically
- pledgedFormally promised something
bound · entangled · embroiled · implicated · enmeshed · involved · tied-up · entrenched · complicit · tangled
submerged
Below water's surface
absorbed · drenched · soaked · saturated · engrossed · buried · entrenched · enmeshed · enveloped · consumed
mired
Stuck in difficulty
floundering · quicksand · troubled · beleaguered · embattled · beset · hamstrung · entangled · ensnared · stranded
swamped
Overwhelmed beyond capacity
- inundatedOverwhelmed by quantity
- floodedCovered with water
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
besieged · deluged · drowning · buried · overrun · burdened · bombarded · overextended · maxed-out · frazzled
neck-deepankle-deep
Submerged to the foot
knee-deep · shallow · wading · dry · surface-level
neck-deepuninvolved
Not taking part
disengaged · detached · on the sidelines · hands-off · peripheral
neck-deepunburdened
Freed from a load
unencumbered · scot-free · in the clear · out of the woods · light on
neck, deep, necks, necked, necking, neckline, necklace, bottleneck, redneck