out of the frying pan into the fire
out of the frying pan into the fire
also, out of the frying pan and into the fire
Meaning | Synonyms
- to go from a bad to worse situation
- used to refer when a bad situation turned critical
- moving from a very difficult position to one that is considered much worse
Example Sentences
- In a bid to gain independence, she agreed to get married early, not knowing she was jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
- Moving from my old school to this one is like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.
- I wanted to fix the leakage but being so old the pipe was straight out of the frying pan and into the fire.
- Liza started shouting at me in public when I went to apologize. I was like out of the frying pan into the fire.
Origin
This phrase originated from the earliest century Greek poetry and is used to describe the process of trying to escape a smoke and getting scorched by the flames instead. The poet Caesar Germanicus first used it in describing the fate of a hare who got devoured by a sea dog when it jumped into the sea while trying to run away from a dog. The next time it was used was in the Latin seafarer’s tale where it was said that one of the characters in trying to avoid Charybdis ran on Scylla. This phrase was once again spotted in a collection of Aesop’s fables where someone was urging his mates to jump into the water to save themselves and when they did, they landed on burning coals instead.
Circumstances, Fire, Food, Problem
Share your opinions2 Opinions
I read this idiom in an old song called ” On An On” by Stephen Bishop so I came to Idioms Dictionary and I could understand its meaning. Thanks a lot.
‒ Rodrigo Holguín February 10, 2024
What about the song (On and on) sung by Steven Bishop – a big hit in the 1970’s. The lyric goes – “ he went from the fire into the frying pan”. To me it flows better as a phrase plus once your out of the fire and into the frying pan – it a sure thing-“your goose is cooked”🤔
‒ Keith Brown September 19, 2021