/ˈɛssere nei ˈɡwai ˈfino al ˈkɔllo/ lit. ‘to be in trouble up to the neck’
Italian idiom, everyday. To be in trouble or a difficult situation.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Essere nei guai fino al collo
?
Everyday, fine in most company. “Fino al collo” turns ordinary trouble into deep trouble, and you can attach it to other nouns: “nei debiti fino al collo” (up to the neck in debt), “nel lavoro fino al collo”. The version with “merda” is vulgar and very common among friends.
Also said esserci dentro fino al collo, essere nella merda fino al collo
Essere nei guai fino al collo
in real sentences
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Sono nei guai fino al collo.
I’m in trouble up to my neck.
Tatoeba, sentence by Nuel, translation by Nuel, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Tom è nei guai fino al collo.
Tom is in deep trouble.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by Spamster, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Essere nei guai fino al collo
come from?
English Wiktionary lists “fino al collo” (literally up to the neck) as an idiom for being in something deep, quoting the 2020 Italian translation of Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” about America being stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan. The picture is someone sunk in water or mud until only their head is out. The combination with “guai” isn’t dated.
Mistakes learners make with Essere nei guai fino al collo
Translating “in hot water” word for word. “Essere nell’acqua calda” means nothing in Italian; the trouble is measured by how high it comes up your body.
Other Italian idioms like Essere nei guai fino al collo
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