What does the idiom "out of the frying pan into the fire" mean?
Are you using the idiom out of the frying pan into the fire but not sure about its meaning? Using idioms, which are important elements of spoken and written language, in the right place strengthens your language skills. Examine the meaning of the out of the frying pan into the fire idiom and the situations in which it is used.
Meaning of "out of the frying pan into the fire"
Meaning
The phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire" is an idiom which is used to describe a situation in which a person is faced with a new problem or difficulty after they have just escaped from or solved one existing situation. In other words, this expression refers to a person’s problem or dilemma getting worse rather than better after a particular course of action is taken in order to fix it.
Etymology
The phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire" is derived from a story in Aesop's Fables, which is a collection of stories written by the Ancient Greek storyteller and fabulist Aesop. According to the story, a fox chased a mouse into a stream and the mouse escaped by running onto the shore. Subsequently, the fox chased it into a chest of hot ashes where the mouse generated heat with its rapid movements and eventually found an exit. However, after escaping the chest of hot ashes, the mouse returned to the water where it was originally chased. This story is thought to be the origin of the phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire” which is now used to describe a situation in which someone is moving from one difficult situation to another.
Usage
The phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire" is mainly used to describe a situation in which a person's problem or dilemma gets worse after taking a particular course of action. It is usually used when a person is trying to fix a situation but inadvertently makes it worse. It can also be used to describe a situation in which a person is attempting to escape from one situation and winds up in an even worse one.
Example Sentences
- "John was sure that switching jobs would help him get a better salary, but it turned out to be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire."
- "The government thought that by restricting imports they could help the economy, but instead they went from out of the frying pan into the fire."
- "When Jack left his old job he thought that he had escaped a difficult situation, but now he feels like he's out of the
The Global Spread of English Idioms
As English has become a global language, its idioms have spread far beyond the borders of the UK and USA. For instance, the idiom "beat around the bush" has equivalents in many other languages, such as "tourner autour du pot" in French and "dar vueltas al asunto" in Spanish. Meanwhile, other idioms have been adapted for local contexts, such as the Russian idiom "?? ???? ???????" (ne svoya rubashka), which translates to "not one's own shirt," meaning to be in an uncomfortable or unfamiliar situation.
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