dire straits

alternative dire straights

1. idiomaticpluralplural onlyA difficult position or situation.

   After being shipwrecked on the island, we were in dire straits.

   4 more examples

   The painter inconsiderately enough borrowed £30 raised for him with difficulty by the poet, and when Keats was himself in dire straits, resented the expectation that it should be repaid.

   1817, John Keats, edited by H. Buxton Froman, The Complete Works of John Keats: Poems published in 1817, Volume 1, page xxxix

   Scouts and Indians from the latter province made frequent raids into Georgia, carrying off cattle without which the Floridians would have been in dire straits for meat.

   1929, Wilbur Henry Siebert, Loyalists in East Florida, 1774 to 1785, The Most Important Documents Pertaining Thereto, Volume 1, page 50

   […] Pandora announced via press release that [Roger] Lynch — who has run Pandora since September 2017, taking it from dire straits to a profitable audio and advertising enterprise — will step down from the company once the deal officially goes through.

   2019 January 30, Amy X. Wang, “Pandora’s CEO Roger Lynch Exits As SiriusXM Takes Over”, in Rolling Stone

   "I understand the country is in dire straits and has a £2 trillion national debt. […]"

   2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 50

   Synonyms: ass in a sling, bind, bucket of syrup, calvary, cauldron, cross, cross to bear, difficulty