in a fix

Idioms and Phrases

Also, in a pickle or spot . In a difficult or embarrassing situation, in a dilemma. For example, I was really in a fix when I missed the plane , or Lost and out of gas—how did we get in such a pickle? or John had lost all his money in the crap game—now he was in a spot . The first of these colloquial usages dates from the early 1800s; pickle in the sense of a mess or quandary, sometimes put as in a pretty pickle , dates from the 1500s; spot , also put as in a bad spot or tough spot , dates from the early 1900s. Also see in a bind ; in deep , def. 2; in the soup ; in trouble ; on the spot .