KETTLE OF FISH

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does kettle of fish mean? 

• KETTLE OF FISH (noun)
  The noun KETTLE OF FISH has 1 sense:

1. informal terms for a difficult situation

  Familiarity information: KETTLE OF FISH used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KETTLE OF FISH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Informal terms for a difficult situation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

fix; hole; jam; kettle of fish; mess; muddle; pickle

Context example:

he made a muddle of his marriage

Hypernyms ("kettle of fish" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kettle of fish"):

dog's breakfast; dog's dinner (a poor job; a mess)

 Context examples 

And then it will go in, you know—and then— said Mr. Dick, after checking himself, and pausing a long time, there'll be a pretty kettle of fish!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)