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in a rut

In a settled or established habit or course of action, especially a boring one. For example, We go to the seashore every summer—we're in a rut, or After ten years at the same job she says she's in a rut. This expression alludes to having a wheel stuck in a groove in the road. [Early 1800s]

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RELATED WORDS

die-hard, reactionary, traditional, timid, middle-of-the-road, accepted, firm, right, constant, redneck, traditionalist, steady, quiet, fuddy-duddy, stable, bourgeois, Tory, rightist, controlled, conventional

Nearby words

  1. in a lather,
  2. in a manner of speaking,
  3. in a nutshell,
  4. in a pig's eye,
  5. in a pinch,
  6. in a sense,
  7. in a snit,
  8. in a state,
  9. in a stew,
  10. in a tight corner
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.