Tener las manos llenas
Example: Hoy tengo las manos llenas con el trabajo y los niños.
Definition
"Tener las manos llenas" means being very busy or overwhelmed with tasks or responsibilities, often to the point of having no free time. For example, when someone says, "Hoy tengo las manos llenas con el trabajo y los niños," they express they are fully occupied with work and children.
Etymology
The phrase "tener las manos llenas" literally translates to 'to have full hands,' which figuratively means having so many tasks that one's hands are metaphorically full. This expression likely originated from the visual image of holding many objects at once, making it impossible to take on more, thus symbolizing busyness or being overwhelmed.
Learn to use this expression actively
"Tener las manos llenas" appears in the Vocaplus list "Spanish - General - Modismos y refranes - (C1) - parte 1", containing 120 commonly used expressions.
Would you like to not only understand these expressions, but also remember them and use them actively? Create a free account and select Spanish as the language you want to learn.
Create a free account
to be very busy