ENGLISH
REFERENCE

too many balls in the air

idiom
Meaning

Too many tasks, responsibilities, or details to cope with or manage successfully.


Origin

disputed origin

An allusion to the situation of a juggler who is attempting to juggle an excessive number of objects.

Examples
SIMPLE

I cannot help you today because I have too many balls in the air.

CONTEXTUAL

She is struggling to finish her project because she currently has too many balls in the air at work.

COMPLEX

The executive realized that by pursuing three major acquisitions simultaneously, he had too many balls in the air to maintain the quality of his core operations.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    air one's dirty laundry in public

    To reveal one's sordid secrets to the public.

  2. 02

    air one's dirty linen in public

    Synonym of air one's dirty laundry in public.

  3. 03

    air out

    To expose to air; to leave open or spread out, as to allow odor or moisture to dissipate.

  4. 04

    air rage

    Aggressive, disruptive behaviour on an aircraft.

  5. 05

    air sandwich

    A strategy that has high-level direction and low-level operations, but little in the middle.

  6. 06

    balls of steel

    Courage, audacity.

  7. 07

    balls to the wall

    With maximum effort or commitment.

  8. 08

    blow hot air

    To engage in empty or exaggerated talk that lacks substance, credibility, or truth; to bluster.

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