| inf. |
be involved in something that is beyond one's capacity to deal with (When I became a graduate student I knew at once I was in over my head • Near the start of the film, a city cop volunteers to help the small-town policemen, who seem to be in over their heads. • Some of the soldiers are there out of a sense of duty; most of them realize they might be in over their heads. • After my first lead role, I knew I was in over my head, so I started training in acting and martial arts. • It's during these inept stabs at drama that the director displays how far in over his head he is. • Now she's in over her head, and her wisecracks to the cops don't help her situation. • I began with the tutorial missions and realized I was definitely in over my head. • The overwhelming impression I get from Firewarrior is that of being constantly in over my head. • How do you decide when you are in over your head in a work-related situation?  lexico.com); to be involved in a difficult situation that you cannot get out of (Sean tried to pay his gambling debts, but he was in over his head. cambridge.org); to be deeply involved in a situation which is too difficult for you to deal with (He realized that he was in over his head, and that only his family could help him. collinsdictionary.com); to be too deeply involved in or with a difficult situation, beyond the point of being able to control or cope with things any longer (I'm in way over my head with this money laundering scheme—now the mob is threatening my family if I try to back out. • I think I'm in over my head with Amy. She wants marriage, kids, and a house, and I'm just not ready for any of that. thefreedictionary.com); to be swamped with debts, work, responsibilities, and so forth (The analogy in this expression is to being in water over one's head when one presumably is not a good swimmer. In the early seventeenth century it was put simply as over one's head, as in: That silly women shall be dipt over head in a Gumble-stool for scolding. thefreedictionary.com) |
