frying pan
Americannoun
idioms
noun
-
a long-handled shallow pan used for frying
-
from a bad situation to a worse one
Etymology
Origin of frying pan
1350–1400; Middle English fryinge panne
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Weather that swings from deep freeze to frying pan.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Yet the country may be launching out of the frying pan and into the fire.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026
Inside Dorothy’s Kansan house, a once-shadowed frying pan on the wall now dangles front and center, as does a digitally added “Home Sweet Home” needlepoint nailed to the threshold.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025
"It's created by the frying pan and that chemical reaction."
From Salon • May 15, 2024
She cracked the eggs in a pot, whipped them with a fork, dipped in four slices of white bread, and laid them out in the frying pan on the stove.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
