in a bit of a jimjam
- idiom
- Archaic
:
en un lío
- He found himself in a bit of a jimjam after misplacing his passport at the airport.
Examples
-
She's in a bit of a jimjam about the exam results.
-
Whenever there's a last-minute change, I get in a bit of a jimjam.
-
She was in a bit of a jimjam trying to finish the project on time.
-
I found myself in a bit of a jimjam when I forgot my presentation.
-
He found himself in a bit of a jimjam after misplacing his passport at the airport.
-
She was in a bit of a jimjam trying to finish the project on time.
-
Whenever there's a last-minute change, I get in a bit of a jimjam.
Synonyms
9
2.5
Being in a state of disorder or confusion
4
8.6
Feeling very nervous and confused about something
1
8.2
A sudden state of confusion and panic that makes someone lose control
Feeling confused and worried before an important event
With much hurry and disorder
Antonyms
How Anxious
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + a + bit + of + a + jimjams
Although the frame 'in a bit of a X' is compositional, the crucial lexical item 'jimjam(s)' is dialectal slang whose meaning 'anxiety/nervousness' is idiomatic and not derivable from its parts. A B1 learner who knows 'in', 'a', 'bit', and 'of' would not reliably infer 'anxiety' from 'jimjam(s)' (some might even think of 'pajamas'), so the expression is unpredictable and opaque.
Etymology
In a bit of a jimjam may come from old slang jim-jams, which meant the jitters — imagine someone shaking and unable to think clearly. So the phrase now means being 'nervous' or 'confused'.