être au four et au moulin

The French expression “être au four et au moulin” translates literally to “to be at the oven and at the mill”.

English meanings:

• to wear too many hats
• to have too many irons in the fire
• to burn the candle at both ends

French meanings:

• être débordé de travail – to be overwhelmed with work
• courir partout, s’occuper de tout – to run around everywhere, taking care of everything

Example sentence:

• Je travaille jour et nuit. Je ne dors pas assez et je suis très fatigué. Je suis au four et au moulin et je devrais me reposer un peu. I’m working night and day and I’m very tired. I have too many irons in the fire and I should rest a bit.

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