Totally out of his depth?

Reader question:

When somebody is “described as ‘totally out of his depth’ after being relieved of his duties”, what does it mean?

My comments:

It means he’s not up to the task. He cannot do the job. So he was let go (relieved of his duties).

We may more or less safely infer that this unlucky so and so is better suited for a job or position that befits a person of lesser ability, a job that perhaps requires less complexity, scope and competence.

That’s what being described as “totally out of his depth” implies or suggests at any rate.

Out of one’s depth, you see, is a term that’s more easily understood in the swimming pool. So let’s go there and throw a boy learning how to swim down at the deep end.

No. You don’t do that, of course. In a regular swimming pool, the deep end is, like, 1.8 meters deep. The shallow end, on the other hand, is, like, eighty centimeters in depth.

And so, in the beginning, you want the boy to dip his toe, so to speak, in the shallow end.

Why? Simply because the deep end is “out of his depth”, literally meaning the pool is deeper than the boy’s height. If he’s put in the pool at the deep end, he’ll get submerged.

And that’s not safe.

Hence, you don’t want to throw the boy into water if it’s out of his depth.

Figuratively speaking, therefore, if a job is deemed out of someone’s depth, it’s beyond his ability.

Or any situation, for that matter. If it’s out of your depth, you cannot cope with it competently. Quit, therefore, and find yourself another situation, one that is less demanding.

If you insist on hanging onto the existing situation, however, you’ll keep finding yourself in trouble. You’ll keep finding yourself, that is, in over your head, to use a similar swimming analogy. You’ll remain submerged IN a deep pool with water all OVER YOUR HEAD.