be in a pickle

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ostap77

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"To be in a difficult situation". One of my dictionaries says that it's old-fashioned. Is it used nowadays?
 

riquecohen

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"To be in a difficult situation". One of my dictionaries says that it's old-fashioned. Is it used nowadays?
I think it is old-fashioned, but I've been known to use it. Of course, I'm old.
 

5jj

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I think it is old-fashioned, but I've been known to use it. Of course, I'm old.

I am with riquecohen - about the old-fashioned and the old.

I tend to say, 'I'm in a bit of a pickle'
 

bhaisahab

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I am with riquecohen - about the old-fashioned and the old.

I tend to say, 'I'm in a bit of a pickle'
You can add me to the list as well.;-)
 

Barb_D

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Gosh, you guys are old! :-D

My version is "in a bit of a jam."
 

5jj

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Gosh, you guys are old! :-D Old, but distiguished.

My version is "in a bit of a jam." I hear that in BrE too - from other distinguished people.
5jj
 

Tdol

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I use both (with 'in a bit of')
 

5jj

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Do you use it often because a Cambridge dictionary says it's old-fashioned too?

I don't use it often - but that's because the situation doesn't arise that often.
 

hermeowjesty

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"To be in a pickle" means to be in a difficult situation, from which one is unlikely to escape.
It's an American expression which comes from baseball slang for a baserunner caught between bases, or in a rundown. If the runner is caught in a rundown and is likely to be tagged out, no matter which direction he runs, he's said to be "in a pickle."
 

Amela_Ze

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I think that it's a great expression and it's not old-fashioned.
I use it very often.
 

Vidor

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not a teacher

"Eventually distributors of intelligent, dark, and frequently intense movies were finding themselves in -- what do you know? -- exactly the same pickle we are today."

Salon.com, today
 
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