English Explanatory Dictionary

in a pickle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

prep_phrase
  1. In a difficult situation or a troubling quandary.

Pronunciation

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-in a pickle.wav

Word forms

in a pickle

Etymology

The term refers to being in pickling solution, presumably unpleasant. It was first used in English by William Shakespeare in The Tempest (1611), although the phrase had been used in Dutch earlier.

Synonyms

in a fix troubled
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