[Japanese Idioms by Flashcards]
猫の手も借りたい
“willing to accept even the helping hand of a cat”
(swamped, shorthanded, “up to one’s eyeballs” in work)
This phrase indicates an intense degree of need. Cats are useless when it comes to assisting people. If one will go so far as to accept even the help of a cat, one really is in desperate need.
Sample text:
(Style: spoken/casual/female)
A: Ano, chotto gomennasai. Koko no jimusho, kyoo, hikkoshi de, neko no te mo karitai yoona isogashisa na no. Atode denwa suru wa.
A: あの、ちょっとごめんなさい。
A: Uh, sorry. You know at our office we’re in the middle of a move today and we’re swamped. I’ll call you later.
Japanese Idioms
