drink from a firehose

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

drink from a firehose (third-person singular simple present drinks from a firehose, present participle drinking from a firehose, simple past drank from a firehose, past participle drunk from a firehose)

1. (idiomatic) To be overwhelmed (with work, information, etc.); to be inundated with an unrestricted or unfiltered amount.
2. (idiomatic) To take a small amount from an enormous, hard-to-manage quantity.
   • 2004, Anthony G. Wilhelm, Digital Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society, page 20:

     If we are to be drinking from a firehose, with billions of web pages at our fingertips, then we should possess the skills to manage its flow.

• drink from the fire hydrant