on one's shoulders
on (one's) shoulders
One's own responsibility or obligation. My siblings' care has been on my shoulders ever since our parents died.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
on one's shoulders
As one's responsibility, as in The king carries his entire country on his shoulders, or The success of the conference rests on Nancy's shoulders. This metaphoric use of shoulders as the burden-bearing part of the body dates from the late 1300s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.