be up to (one's) eyes in (something)

To have too much of something; to be overwhelmed by something. I'm still unpacking, so I'm up to my eyes in boxes. If any of my guys get hurt at the construction site, I'll be up to my eyes in paperwork. A: "Will you buy this old TV off of me?" B: "No thanks. I'm up to my eyes in these old units as it is."

be up to your ˈeyes/ˈeyeballs in something

have a lot of something to deal with: He was up to his eyes in debt.

See also: eye, eyeball, something, to, up

up to one's ears/eyes/eyebrows, to be

To be completely engrossed or overwhelmed. These phrases, likening physical immersion in something to figurative engrossment, have been around a long time. Richard Barnfield used “In love up to the eares” in The Affectionate Shepheard (1594). Anthony Trollope had “All the Burtons are full up to their eyes with good sense” in The Claverings (1866), about a century after the term came into use.