up the creek
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He fears the project will silt up the creek and Flathead Lake and destroy fish and habitat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
If the Labour Party is up the creek without a paddle after last week, to revert to Yank lingo, it also finds itself in an anomalous position.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
"Now we've got a little pen torch, just in case, whereas the old pitmen's lamps used to have a little bulb, but if your battery fused you were up the creek really."
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2025
We wore our rubber boots everywhere and carried 5-gallon buckets up the creek beds, picking fat, ripe salmonberries to help our mom make jam, pies and wine.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2020
Lying low made sense because we were up the creek with models based on sugar-phosphate cores.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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.
