| 单词 | up to one's ass in alligators |
| 释义 | > as lemmasup to one's ass (also ears, armpits, etc.) in alligators slang (chiefly U.S.). up to one's ass (also ears, armpits, etc.) in alligators: in a difficult, dangerous, or chaotic situation; beset by problems or demands. when you're up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember that you're there to drain the swamp and variants: urgent problems have a tendency to divert attention from the pursuit of more important strategic goals. Cf. to drain the swamp at swamp n. Additions. ΚΠ 1964 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Tribune 17 Feb. (Home ed.) a1/3 Our war in Viet Nam brings a new lingo... If a man gets in hot water, he's in ‘deep trouble’. If he's in real deep trouble, he's ‘up to his ears in alligators’. 1970 Atchison (Kansas) Globe 9 Mar. 7/5 When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. 1982 Washington Post 21 Jan. a2/5 He [sc. President Reagan] praised their work and told them they must keep up the fight against big government: ‘When you're up to your armpits in alligators it's sometimes hard to remember that you're here to drain the swamp.’ 1984 A. Smith in G. Ursell More Saskatchewan Gold iii. i. 275 We were up to our eyeballs in alligators, so Joe Tschepurny never had time to go over Ramesh's model in detail before we sent it off. 2004 New Yorker 3 May 69/1 I'm up to my ass in alligators at the moment. < as lemmas |
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