例句1: "Half the people in my office are home sick, so I’m up to my ears!"
这个人说:“我办公室里有一半的人有病请假,所以我简直忙得不得了。”
下面这个例子是一个丈夫为了逃避到厨房去帮他太太的忙正在找借口:
例句2:"Gee, honey, you know I’d like to help you paint the kitchen tonight, but I’m up to my ears in paper work I had to bring home from the office. "
这个丈夫说:“亲爱的,你知道我很愿意今晚帮你把厨房上油漆。可是我从办公室带回来好些要做的事。”
Up to one’s ears 当然还有其他意思:
例句3:"The mayor says he didn’t know people on his staff were taking bribes. But my guess is he’s up to his ears in it."
这句话的意思是:“市长说他不知道他手下的工作人员接受贿赂。可是,我猜想他完全是介入这些事的。”