have one's hands full

English

Alternative forms

• have one's handful (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Verb

have one's hands full (third-person singular simple present has one's hands full, present participle having one's hands full, simple past and past participle had one's hands full)

2. (idiomatic) To be busy or thoroughly preoccupied.

   He already has his hands full with two kids and a full-time job, yet he still makes time to volunteer.

   • c. 1603, Walter Raleigh, Apology for the Voyage to Guiana:

     They had their hands full to defend themselves from firing.

Translations

be busy or thoroughly preoccupied

• Finnish: olla kädet täynnä (subject in adessive), olla yllin kyllin tekemistä (subject in adessive)
• German: alle Hände voll zu tun haben (de)
• Icelandic: hafa nóg á sinni könnu
• Polish: mieć pełne ręce roboty impf
• Portuguese: estar de mãos cheias
• Romanian: no equivalent term in Romanian, but see foarte ocupat
• Scots: hae ane's ain tae dae

See also

• handful
• have one's hands tied
• tie one's hands