beyond (one's) depth
1. In water that is too deep for one to swim in. The lifeguard had to save the girl who had gotten beyond her depth in the pool. I don't want anyone ending up in water that's beyond their depth, so everyone needs to wear a life jacket on the boat. Stay here in the shallow end! The water on that end of the pool is beyond your depth.
2. Advanced beyond one's ability to understand or make sense of the subject matter or task at hand. The stuff they're teaching in this advanced math class is beyond my depth. Whoa, having 10 employees report to me is a bit beyond my depth—I haven't had that much supervisory experience. I asked Alex to consult on this project because it's a bit beyond my depth.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
beyond one's depth
1. Lit. in water that is too deep. Sally swam out from the beach until she was beyond her depth. Jane swam out to get her even though it was beyond her depth, too.
2. Fig. beyond one's understanding or capabilities. I'm beyond my depth in calculus class. Poor John was involved in a problem that was really beyond his depth.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.