Meanings
- SouthernUSidiomaticThis is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
In talking to his staff, Lyndon B. Johnson always announced the onset of catastrophe with the statement: "The ox is in the ditch!"
1987 March 6, George Reedy, “Can the President Still Lead?”, in New York Times, retrieved 07 Nov 20083 more examples
"The ox is in the ditch," said she, referring to the New Testament excuse for Sabbath work where the need is great, "and Billy must mend this gate if it is Sunday."
1904, Clifton Johnson, Highways and Byways of the South, Macmillan, page 169"It's obvious that the ox is in the ditch big time," said Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. The Postal Service is projecting up to $5 billion in losses over the next two years.
2001 May 15, “Senators seek Postal Service overhaul”, in USA Today, retrieved 07 Nov 2008"You oughtn't to work on the Lord's Day, son," she told Dad both times. Dad's response was always the same. "The ox is in the ditch, Ma."
2006, Fred Harris, Following the Harvest: A Novel, →ISBN, page 71
Origin
An allusion to the urgency and difficulty of extracting an ox from a ditch in which it has become mired.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ox is in the ditch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ox%20is%20in%20the%20ditch
“ox is in the ditch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ox%20is%20in%20the%20ditch. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ox is in the ditch,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ox%20is%20in%20the%20ditch.
Source: ox is in the ditch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.