snow under

snow under

Meaning | Synonyms

• to bury or cover something or somebody in snow (Literal meaning)
• to overwhelm something or somebody especially beyond their capacity to handle or deal with it
• to defeat something or somebody by a vast margin
• to have so much work that you have issues managing everything
• inundate
• overwhelm

Example Sentences

1. I feel snowed under with all the work my boss keeps throwing my way.
2. The result of the election saw the republican candidate being snowed under by a margin of 15 to 4.
3. The avalanche kept the snowboarders snowed under. (Literal example)
4. Jane snowed under me with letters since I stopped talking to her.
5. Do not ever snow under your employees, unless you wish to fire any of them.
6. Only a mother – who never feel annoyed being snowed under with work for her kids.
7. Sally says she has been “snowed under” with compliments of her beauty.
8. Michael Schumacher snowed under all the competitors in the Car Racing Championship and won the trophy.

Origin

The phrase “Snow under” was first used in 1880. It was used in a newspaper report to describe the phenomenon of being covered in a snow. At that time, a very bad blizzard had just occurred. People, cars, and houses were completely covered in snow, so much so that the only thing that could be seen was white. In reporting the event in the US daily, the journalist had written “The city was snowed under”. Later, its use in terms of overwhelming one with paperwork came about as a result of paper being white as snow, and the way papers pile up on a bureaucrat's table is like snow on a roof.