ankle-deep

[ang-kuh l-deep]

adjective

high enough to reach or cover the ankles: ankle-deep mud.
deeply involved or entangled: He is ankle-deep in financial troubles.

adverb

as high as the ankles: Rain water ran ankle-deep.

Origin of ankle-deep

First recorded in 1755–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ankle-deep

Historical Examples of ankle-deep

Stepping heedlessly into the ankle-deep muck, Solange walked forward.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter
Another morning came, and there they sat, ankle-deep in cards.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
Oil was on everybody's tongue and ankle-deep in some of the streets.
Charles Frohman: Manager and Man
Isaac Frederick Marcosson and Daniel Frohman
I'm covered with varnish and mud, and ankle-deep in crockery.
The Riddle of the Sands
Erskine Childers
The sidewalk was badly kept, and the rain made it ankle-deep with mud.
Recollections of Old Liverpool
A Nonagenarian