hot water

American  

noun

Informal.

1. trouble; a predicament.

   His skipping classes will get him into real hot water when exam time comes.

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hot water Idioms  

1. Trouble or difficulty, as in She's deep in political hot water, or We got in hot water over the car deal, or He's finally paid his tuition and is out of hot water with the school. This metaphoric term alludes to water hot enough to burn one. [First half of 1500s] Also see in trouble with.

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Etymology

Origin of hot water

First recorded in 1530–40

Example Sentences

For decades companies have been drilling deep underground to find pockets of extremely hot water that can be piped to the surface and used to spin turbines that generate electricity.

From Barron's

This eliminates the costs and risks associated with pinpointing naturally occurring pockets of hot water, which are like needles in a haystack.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her "green doctor" also gave her a heated electric throw, a hot water bottle and draft excluders.

From BBC

It was freezing cold in Philadelphia so Avril's family piled blankets on her and gathered hot water bottles to keep her warm, "but I wouldn't move, not for the world, not until it finished".

From BBC

In 2019, as housing, communities and local government secretary, he got into hot water over a controversial planning decision.

From BBC