Dictionary

dire straits en · NOUN

Etymology

First use appears c. 1817. See cite below. The phrase stems from nautical terminology, where straits refers to narrow, treacherous passages of water between landmasses, posing serious navigation risks.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, plural, plural-only) A difficult position or situation.
   • The painter inconsiderately enough borrowed £30 raised for him with difficulty by the poet, and when Keats was himself in dire straits, resented the expectation that it should be repaid. 1817, John Keats, edited by H. Buxton Froman, The Complete Works of John Keats: Poems published in 1817, Volume 1, page xxxix:
   • "I understand the country is in dire straits and has a £2 trillion national debt. […]" 2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 50:
   • After being shipwrecked on the island, we were in dire straits.
   • […] Pandora announced via press release that [Roger] Lynch — who has run Pandora since September 2017, taking it from dire straits to a profitable audio and advertising enterprise — will step down from the company once the deal officially goes through. 2019 January 30, Amy X. Wang, “Pandora’s CEO Roger Lynch Exits As SiriusXM Takes Over”, in Rolling Stone:
   • Scouts and Indians from the latter province made frequent raids into Georgia, carrying off cattle without which the Floridians would have been in dire straits for meat. 1929, Wilbur Henry Siebert, Loyalists in East Florida, 1774 to 1785, The Most Important Documents Pertaining Thereto, Volume 1, page 50:

Forms

Synonyms

tight spot · difficulty · bind · dire straits · doghouse · ordeal · pinch · pickle · spot of bother · sticky situation · quandary · fix · hole · ass in a sling · cauldron · situation · jam · cross · calvary · plight · quagmire · kettle · spot · bucket of syrup · trouble · sticky wicket · cross to bear · predicament · kettle of fish · dilemma

Translations (29)

ru бе́дственное положе́ние (difficult position) · no urent farvann (difficult position) · de schlimme Lage (difficult position) · hu szükséghelyzet (difficult position) · nl in het nauw (difficult position) · ro situație disperată (difficult position) · ru больша́я беда́ (difficult position) · fr mauvaise passe (difficult position) · ru отча́янное положе́ние (difficult position) · fi in dire straits (difficult position) · fi vaikeudet (difficult position) · pt saia justa (difficult position) · de große Not (difficult position) · de furchtbare Notlage (difficult position) · pt apuro (difficult position) · tr darda (difficult position) · ja 四苦八苦 (difficult position) · sv trångmål (difficult position) · fi kiipeli (difficult position) · pt aperto (difficult position) · sh u škripcu (difficult position) · fi hankaluudet (difficult position) · pl tarapaty (difficult position) · es gran aprieto (difficult position) · pl opały (difficult position) · fi ahtaalla (difficult position) · pt maus lençóis (difficult position) · no store vanskeligheter (difficult position) · cmn 水深火熱 /水深火热 (difficult position)