when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp

proverb

It is easy to lose sight of one's initial objective, becoming caught up in subtasks or in tasks only tangentially related to the original goal.

“For quotations using this term, see Citations:when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.”

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Meanings

proverb
  1. It is easy to lose sight of one's initial objective, becoming caught up in subtasks or in tasks only tangentially related to the original goal.

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.

Cite this entry
APA

when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/when%20you're%20up%20to%20your%20neck%20in%20alligators%2C%20it's%20hard%20to%20remember%20that%20your%20initial%20objective%20was%20to%20drain%20the%20swamp

MLA

“when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/when%20you're%20up%20to%20your%20neck%20in%20alligators%2C%20it's%20hard%20to%20remember%20that%20your%20initial%20objective%20was%20to%20drain%20the%20swamp. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/when%20you're%20up%20to%20your%20neck%20in%20alligators%2C%20it's%20hard%20to%20remember%20that%20your%20initial%20objective%20was%20to%20drain%20the%20swamp.

Source: when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.