have one's hands full
手一杯である
解説 Definition
多忙で手がいっぱいの状態であること。他のことに取り組む余裕がない様子。
This idiom means to be very busy and have too much to do. It is often used when someone is dealing with many tasks, duties, or problems at the same time. It suggests that the person has little free time or energy left.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
まず hands full をそのまま「両手が物でふさがっている」場面で固定すると覚えやすいです。手が埋まっていたら、別の物は持てず、他の頼みも引き受けにくいので、「忙しい」より一歩進んで「余裕がない・これ以上無理」という感覚になります。busy だけでは単に多忙ですが、have one's hands full は仕事・育児・対応事項などで処理容量が埋まっている感じ。with ... を続けて I have my hands full with work の形でもよく出ます。
Picture both hands already full of bags. If your hands are full, you cannot take anything more. That image makes it easy to remember the idea of having no extra time, energy, or space to deal with more.
例文
With three young children at home, she always has her hands full.
幼い子供が3人いるので、彼女はいつも手一杯だ。
The IT department has its hands full dealing with the system migration this month.
IT部門は今月、システム移行の対応で手一杯だ。
I'd love to help, but I have my hands full with my own deadlines right now.
手伝いたいのですが、今は自分の締め切りで手一杯なのです。
have one's hands full の語源・成り立ち Etymology
hand は古英語 hand、full も古英語 full に由来し、句全体は「手がいっぱいでふさがっている」という直訳どおりの形です。両手が埋まれば他のことに回れない感覚から「手一杯」が生まれ、関連語 handful や handy にも同じ hand の発想が残ります。
This is a plain English expression built from Old English "hand" and "full." Its earliest sense is literal: if your hands are full, you cannot easily take on anything else. That physical idea naturally became a metaphor for being very busy or already fully occupied; related words include "handful" and "handy."
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