up to one's ass in alligators
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Beset by multiple difficulties or adversaries that must be dealt with quickly.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
bị bao vây bởi nhiều khó khăn hoặc đối thủ phải đối mặt nhanh chóng
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Register: slang, vulgar
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “up to one's ass in alligators” mean?
Beset by multiple difficulties or adversaries that must be dealt with quickly.
Is “up to one's ass in alligators” formal or informal?
up to one's ass in alligators is generally slang, vulgar.