Meanings
plural fishes out of water
- idiomaticA person in unfamiliar and often uncomfortable surroundings.
Many stay-at-home fathers find that they are fish out of water, too.
2004 December 22, Jennifer Medina, “Housewives, Try This for Desperation”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 10 Mar 2022, retrieved 02 Oct 20163 more examples
[I]nto this queer assembly, something of a fish out of water and wholly out of his element, strode Cherry Bim, that redoubtable man.
1921, Edgar Wallace, chapter 2, in The Book of All-PowerA pitcher at bat is usually considered such a fish out of water that he is expected to foul, ground or strike out.
1942 May 25, “Sport: Pitcher Hits Ball”, in TIME, archived from the original on 18 Oct 2025, retrieved 02 Oct 2016“The basis of this show is fish out of water,” said the executive producer, Quincy Jones, the music impresario who has never before put his name on a television series but whose work as producer of Michael Jackson's albums won him respect in Hollywood as a canny judge of public tastes.
1990 September 17, Larry Rohter, quoting Quincy Jones, “‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ Puts Rap in Mainstream”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 21 Mar 2022Synonyms: square peg in a round hole
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person in unfamiliar and often uncomfortable surroundings.
Origin
* Earliest recorded uses: "fish out of the water" (1585, Lamentable Complaint of Commonality), "Fishes out of the Water" (1613, Samuel Purchas, Pilgrimage). * Earliest use of metaphor by Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales: Prologue (c. 1405) as "fissh þᵗ is waterlees". Compare also the antonymous French comme un poisson dans l'eau, German wie ein Fisch im Wasser.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans soos 'n vis op droë grond
- soos 'n vis op droë gronda person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Bulgarian риба на сухо
- риба на сухо (riba na suho)a person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Catalan peix fora d'aigua
- peix fora d'aiguaa person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Esperanto fiŝo ekster akvo
- fiŝo ekster akvoa person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Finnish kuin kala kuivalla maalla
- kuin kala kuivalla maallaa person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
German wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen, but less common
- wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenena person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
- but less commona person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
- more usually sich fremd fühlena person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
- sich nicht zu Hause fühlena person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Italian pesce fuor d'acqua
- pesce fuor d'acquaa person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Japanese 陸に上がった河童
- 陸に上がった河童 (oka ni agatta kappa)a person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Malay seperti rusa masuk kampung, bagai kerbau terkejut oleh gong
- seperti rusa masuk kampunga person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
- bagai kerbau terkejut oleh gonga person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
- tak pernah masuk gelanggang bergunga person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Polish dziecko we mgle
- dziecko we mglea person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Portuguese como peixe fora d'água
- como peixe fora d'águaa person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Spanish como pez fuera del agua
- como pez fuera del aguaa person in unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable, surroundings
Cite this entry
fish out of water. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fish%20out%20of%20water
“fish out of water.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fish%20out%20of%20water. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fish out of water,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fish%20out%20of%20water.
Source: fish out of water on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.