in a stew

Idioms and Phrases

Agitated, alarmed, or anxious. For example, Mary was in a stew about how her cake was going to turn out . It is also put as get in or into a stew , as in Every Saturday the minister got in a stew about Sunday's sermon . This expression transfers the mixture of meat and vegetables constituting a stew to overheated mixed emotions. [c. 1800]

Example Sentences

Some preferred to include it in a stew, while others salivated over the golden-brown fried option.

From BBC

Problem two: it's not just the opponents you could predict who are in a stew.

From BBC

"I use it in most of our menus. It's terrific in a stew or spaghetti Bolognese, its umami flavour will honestly lift almost any dish."

From BBC

Pelosi’s alleged assailant, David DePape, 42, was apparently well-marinated in a stew of far-right conspiracy theories about “the elites/ruling class.”

From Los Angeles Times

I genuinely might have been fooled that it was an actual chunk of roast if it were in a stew or already shredded on a plate.

From The Verge

Related Words

• agitated
• angry
• delirious
• distraught
• frenetic
• frenzied
• furious
• hectic
• mad
• overwrought
• weird