Meaning of in the weeds | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Immersed or entangled in details or complexities.
   figuratively, informal
2. Overwhelmed with diners' orders.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, the, weeds.

Examples

“to get lost in the weeds”

“It was in a series of such back-and-forth sessions that Rumsfeld crafted the war on Iraq. […] [G]enerals were alarmed to see a Defense Secretary get so far down in the weeds of a military operation.”

“Mr. Obama devoted so much time to the Afghan issue — nearly 11 hours on the day after Thanksgiving alone — that he joked, “I’ve got more deeply in the weeds than a president should, and now you guys need to solve this.””

“In order to ban prop trading, you first have to define it, and when you try, you are immediately in the weeds.”

“For readers who may be concerned about getting lost in the weeds, don’t worry. The authors do an excellent job hitting high points in an intelligible manner so that readers don’t need a PhD in climate science to see the patterns.”

“[…] many today will recognise in it the tendency of the left to prioritise ideological purity over concrete action, get lost in the weeds of theory and language, and ultimately turn on itself.”

“Anger may be the only recourse when you're "in the weeds," as chefs call the nightmare of not being ready when orders pour in and you fall behind and can't see a way out.”

“She saw that she was in the weeds on every front. There were unanswered phone messages from a food writer at the Times, from an editor at Gourmet, and from the latest restaurateur hoping to steal Brian’s chef.”

“She took on way too much work in the kitchen and didn't know when to say when. […] Like one of the judges said, "No matter how great a chef you are, once you get in the weeds, it's over."”

“Sometimes, while she rooted around in the weeds to place her camera, the meadow resisted—thorns scratched her arm and insects bit her fingers.”

CEFR level