Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

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


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.


Discover More

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

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.

"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

For those children it could well be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2011

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

But, all said and done, the nation has fallen out of the frying pan into the fire; exchanged one evil for another.

From Time Magazine Archive

We certainly succeeded in doing so, but ended by jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

From Adventures in Swaziland The Story of a South African Boer by O'Neil, Owen Rowe