be in way over one's head

[Curious Cat]

Hi again,

I have another problem. I'm not sure, whether it is an idiom or not, so I'm posting it to this forum.

The context: a girl dancing in a bar full of horny men is likely to ...hm... say get into a distress.

Her friend arrives just in time to save her and what he is thinking is:
"Whether she knew or not, she was *in way over her head*"

What does the second part of the sentence mean? My idea is that she was getting helpless to manage the situation. Am I right?

[Casiopea]

That's right. To be in over your head is to be unable to cope or manage with a situation. That idiom comes from swimming. To be deep in water, head submerged. If you don't get out of there, you could drown.

[Curious Cat]

Oh sorry. The sentence is not really the boy's thought, but just his view of the situation. I guess...

[Curious Cat]

Thanks Casiopea!

While I was writing the message, you've already given me the answer