Out of the frying pan, into the fire
Going from a bad situation to one that is even worse.
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Out of the frying pan, into the fire
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out of the frying pan into the fire
out of the frying pan into the fireFrom 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
out of the frying pan into the fire
Idioms
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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.
"The worry is that Nasa may be jumping out of the frying pan, into the fire," says Dr Barber.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025
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
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.
