# What does ‘in a pickle’ mean?

To “in a pickle” means to in a difficult situation. Brewer's records the phrase in English from the 16th century, with a related figurative use in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

## What it means

- Brewer's records the phrase in English from the 16th century, with a related figurative use in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

## Action steps

1. Mild, older way to describe a jam.
2. Example: I'm in a bit of a pickle — the car won't start.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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