Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
2023-02-19
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program, we explore idioms, or expressions, in the English language.
3We give examples and notes on usage.
4And, sometimes we even use them in short stories.
5Today we talk about bad situations.
6Sometimes we think a situation is very bad.
7We cannot imagine that it can get any worse. But then it does.
8We have an expression for just that situation - out of the frying pan and into the fire.
9Imagine we are camping. The area is near a small river.
10So, for dinner, we decide to go fishing. Fish cooked over a campfire is a tasty meal indeed.
11We start the fire. We add butter and onions to the frying pan.
12When it heats up, we add the fish.
13In the frying pan, the fish is in a very bad situation.
14It flips violently back and forth.
15It tries to get out of the hot frying pan.
16Finally, the fish flips out of the frying pan but lands in the fire.
17The idiom out of the frying pan and into the fire means you leave a bad situation purposefully only to find yourself in a much worse situation.
18You thought you were improving it, but the opposite happened.
19Sometimes, this saying describes a choice between two equally difficult options.
20Here is another example. Let's say your friend complains about his job all the time.
21He says his commute to the office is too long and the pay is too low.
22You remind him that he gets great benefits, and he has the freedom to set his own hours.
23You tell him that no job is perfect.
24But he does not listen.
25He leaves his job and starts another one.
26When you talk to him a month later, this is how the conversation might go.
27A: Hey, how is the new job going?
28B: To be honest ... not so good.
29A: Oh no! What's wrong?
30B: Well, I used to set my own hours. My new job has a strict 9-to-5 policy.
31A: Being about to set your own hours is a big plus.
32B: And my take-home pay might be more.
33But I have to pay so much more for health insurance.
34And I have to pay for a parking space.
35A: Sounds like you've jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.
36B: Please don't remind me.
37And here is a final note on usage.
38If the friend in this conversation simply said, "Sounds like you just jumped out of the frying pan," we would know they mean this expression.
39Some word experts say this phrase comes from very early Greek poetry.
40Those early poets used the expression to describe the process of trying to escape smoke and getting burned by the flames instead.
41And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
42Do you have a question about an idiom or expression?
43Send us an email to voalearningenglish.com and let us know!
44Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program, we explore idioms, or expressions, in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage. And, sometimes we even use them in short stories. 3Today we talk about bad situations. Sometimes we think a situation is very bad. We cannot imagine that it can get any worse. But then it does. 4We have an expression for just that situation - out of the frying pan and into the fire. 5Imagine we are camping. The area is near a small river. So, for dinner, we decide to go fishing. Fish cooked over a campfire is a tasty meal indeed. We start the fire. We add butter and onions to the frying pan. When it heats up, we add the fish. 6In the frying pan, the fish is in a very bad situation. It flips violently back and forth. It tries to get out of the hot frying pan. Finally, the fish flips out of the frying pan but lands in the fire. 7The idiom out of the frying pan and into the fire means you leave a bad situation purposefully only to find yourself in a much worse situation. You thought you were improving it, but the opposite happened. 8Sometimes, this saying describes a choice between two equally difficult options. 9Here is another example. Let's say your friend complains about his job all the time. He says his commute to the office is too long and the pay is too low. You remind him that he gets great benefits, and he has the freedom to set his own hours. You tell him that no job is perfect. But he does not listen. He leaves his job and starts another one. When you talk to him a month later, this is how the conversation might go. 10A: Hey, how is the new job going? 11B: To be honest ... not so good. 12A: Oh no! What's wrong? 13B: Well, I used to set my own hours. My new job has a strict 9-to-5 policy. 14A: Being about to set your own hours is a big plus. 15B: And my take-home pay might be more. But I have to pay so much more for health insurance. And I have to pay for a parking space. 16A: Sounds like you've jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. 17B: Please don't remind me. 18And here is a final note on usage. If the friend in this conversation simply said, "Sounds like you just jumped out of the frying pan," we would know they mean this expression. 19Some word experts say this phrase comes from very early Greek poetry. Those early poets used the expression to describe the process of trying to escape smoke and getting burned by the flames instead. 20And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 21Do you have a question about an idiom or expression? Send us an email to voalearningenglish.com and let us know! 22Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 23Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 24_______________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26flip - v. to toss so as to cause to turn over in the air 27option - n. something that may be chosen 28commute - n. the distance covered from one place to another 29strict - adj. severe in discipline 30take-home pay - adj. income remaining from salary or wages after deductions (as for income-tax withholding) 31remind - v. to put in mind of something : cause to remember 32_______________________________________________________________________ 33We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expression in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 34We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.