fine kettle of fish

A troublesomely awkward or embarrassing situation: “Gurnley usually managed to worm his way out of trouble, but this time he found himself in a fine kettle of fish.”

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!

Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
Worn down by dullness, tedious repetition.
unproductive; unfruitful
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby fine kettle of fish

fine-draw, fine-drawn, Fine Gael, fine-grain, fine-grained, fine kettle of fish, fine leg, finely, fine nail, fineness, fineness ratio
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.