Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

in a pickle

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.39 in modern English

Syllables: in- a pick-le
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

In a difficult situation or a troubling quandary.

Informal

Example Sentences

"How cam'ſt thou in this pickle? / Tri. I haue bin in ſuch a pickle ſince I ſaw you laſt, / That I feare me will neuer out of my bones:"
"Cody Ko, a YouTube star with 5.7 million subscribers, found himself in a pickle in May."

Etymology

The term refers to being in pickling solution, presumably unpleasant. It was first used in English by William Shakespeare in The Tempest (1611), although the phrase had been used in Dutch earlier.

Usage

Informal

Synonyms

in a fix troubled

Questions

What does in a pickle mean?: In a difficult situation or a troubling quandary.
Where does in a pickle come from?: The term refers to being in pickling solution, presumably unpleasant. It was first used in English by William Shakespeare in The Tempest (1611), although the phrase had been used in Dutch earlier.

How to pronounce in a pickle

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “in a pickle”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “in a pickle”.
Repeat and practice — Say “in a pickle” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.