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What does up the creek without a paddle mean?
What does without a paddle mean?
What does up the river without a paddle mean?
What does up a shit creek without a paddle mean?
What is without a paddle Cafe?
in a difficult situation, with no way of getting out of it: Customers feel they have been left up the creek without a paddle by the bank. If we don't address this problem now, we will be up a creek without a paddle in the very near future.
In trouble, in a serious predicament, as in If the check doesn't arrive today I'm up a creek, or The car wouldn't start, so I was up the creek without a paddle. This slangy idiom conjures up the image of a stranded canoeist with no way of moving (paddling) the canoe.
In a difficult, troubling, or dangerous situation, especially one from which it is impossible or extremely difficult to extricate oneself. Often followed by "without a paddle." A less common variant of the phrase "up a/the creek (without a paddle)." We're really going to be up the river without a paddle if we run out of gas out here in the desert.
- Usage
- Examples of Use
- Origin
The original form of this idiom is up the creek. Up the creek without a paddle is a slightly humorous and intensified variant of the idiom.
“If my check doesn’t come by tomorrow I’ll be up the creek. The rent is due on Friday.” “My car broke down in the middle of nowhere and my phone had no signal. I was up the creek without a paddle.”
Used since the late-1800s, this idiom is said to have its origin in military slang, referring to being lost, as in when on patrol, etc., calling to mind someone in a canoe being stranded in a river with no way to paddle. 4Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010. The vulgar variant up shit creek intensifies the expres...
In an awkward situation or unpleasant predicament. What's the origin of the phrase 'Up shit creek without a paddle'? This slang phrase, like most street slang, is difficult to date and determine the origin of precisely.
slang In a challenging or troublesome situation, especially one that cannot be easily resolved. I have no savings, so if I get fired from my job, I'll be up the creek without a paddle. Shouldn't we stop for gas? We'll be up a creek if the car dies on that desolate road ahead. See also: creek, up.
be up the creek (without a paddle) meaning, definition, what is be up the creek (without a paddle): to be in a very difficult situation: Learn more.
