up to one's ears
Deeply involved in
Deeply involved or overwhelmed, usually with work, debt, or trouble.
The image is of being submerged nearly to the head: I'm up to my ears in paperwork.
The phrase emphasizes being buried in something demanding or unpleasant.
Variants include up to one's neck, eyeballs, or elbows.
- swampedOverwhelmed beyond capacity
- busyActively occupied with tasks
- over one's headBeyond one's understanding
- sinkBasin with drain
- inundatedOverwhelmed by quantity
in deep · stressed · occupied · knee deep · mess · engulfed · mire · bogged down · overloaded · frazzled · drowning · tasked · flood · piled high · backlog · saturated · entangled · trap
up to one's earsuninvolved
Not taking part
at arm's length · disengaged · detached · dabbling · on the fringes
up to one's earsfree and clear
Owning without obligations attached
unburdened · unencumbered · in the clear · carefree · debt-free
ears, earless, earlobe, earring, ones, oneness, upping, upper, upward