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• Out of the frying pan, into the fire
  Out of the frying pan, into the fire

  Going from a bad situation to one that is even worse.
• out of the frying pan into the fire
  out of the frying pan into the fire

  From a bad situation to one that is much worse. For example, After Karen quit the first law firm she went to one with even longer hours—out of the frying pan into the fire. This expression, a proverb in many languages, was first recorded in English in 1528.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Cultural  

1. Going from a bad situation to one that is even worse.

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out of the frying pan into the fire Idioms  

1. From a bad situation to one that is much worse. For example, After Karen quit the first law firm she went to one with even longer hours—out of the frying pan into the fire. This expression, a proverb in many languages, was first recorded in English in 1528.

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This saying often refers to the necessity of making a choice between equally difficult options.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Out of the frying pan, into the fire out of the frying pan into the fire

Out of the frying pan into the fire!

From The Irrational Knot Being the Second Novel of His Nonage by Bernard Shaw

"The worry is that Nasa may be jumping out of the frying pan, into the fire," says Dr Barber.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2025

"But what I would say to people is that no matter how difficult it is, please don't use a local moneylender, because it really is jumping out of the frying pan into the fire."

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2022

As expected, Dan jumped out of the frying pan into the fire, though Karren offered warnings too about Stuart, whose aggressive salesmanship had been one step away from wrestling passers-by to the ground.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 9, 2010

Rumple-haired, dry-humored William Hammatt Davis wondered if he had jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.

From Time Magazine Archive

"You are in a bad fix now, a'n't you?" said I. "Right out of the frying pan into the fire!"

From Four Years A Scout and Spy by E. C. Downs