keep one’s head above water
Meaning of the phrase:
-manage to survive or cope in a difficult situation, especially one involving financial problem
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Origin of the phrase:
“Water” is used as a metaphor for trouble in several commonly used idioms. To be “in hot water,” “come hell or high water,” and to be “dead in the water” are just a few that associate the term with difficulty. The full expression alludes to keeping oneself from drowning; figuratively, to keep one’s head above water is to avoid drowning in debt or avoid financial ruin.
The phrase can be found as early as 1742 in Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews:
“There are many who, I fancy, believe that not only my pockets, but my whole clothes, are lined with bank-bills; but I assure you, you are mistaken; I am not the man the world esteems me. If I can hold my head above water it is all I can.”
Benjamin Heath Malkin also includes it in his translation of The Adventures of Gil Blas, 1809:
“To carry me discreetly through the world, and keep my head above water.”
Less commonly, the expression may refer to keeping up with work or other such demands; one keeps from drowning in work or responsibility.