throw in at the deep end

English

Etymology

From allusion to an actual swimming pool with a shallow end and deep end. In the shallow end, a person can stand on the bottom. In the deep end, the water is too deep to do this, so a person must be able to swim or at least tread water or drown.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

throw in at the deep end (third-person singular simple present throws in at the deep end, present participle throwing in at the deep end, simple past threw in at the deep end, past participle thrown in at the deep end)

1. (idiomatic) To introduce (someone) to a new situation without adequate preparation.

See also

• hit the ground running
• sink or swim
• in at the deep end