in hot water
12
4.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
estar en problemas
- He quickly realized that lying would only get him in hot water with his friends.
- get in hot water
- land in hot water
- find themselves in hot water
He he is still in hot water over this little comment from yesterday.
- He he is still in hot water over this little comment from yesterday.
- Oh, you were in hot water about that as well, my friends.
- People come to me for match fixing, I report it, I end up in hot water, that sort of thing.
- I get more in hot water with foodies.
- Oh, you were in hot water about that as well, my friend.
Examples
-
I'm already in hot water with her.
-
After missing the deadline, I found myself in hot water with my boss.
-
Looks like we're in hot water.
-
"Then you can appreciate that I might be in hot water about this?"
Fiction book (1999) -
"Probably going to get myself in hot water," Jack said.
Fiction book (1999) -
And why do you think the school district is in "hot water," as you put it?
Blog text (13) -
You are asking children to give up education in a school district that is already in hot water.
Blog text (13) -
His use of inaccurate figures and one-sided reporting landed him in hot water.
Blog text (31) -
Fairly or not, the analogy has landed Akin in hot water.
Blog text (28) -
A Florida high school is in hot water for poaching the Dodge Trucks ram's-head logo (with thanks to Alex Moggridge).
Blog text (28)
Synonyms
∞
2.9
In difficulty and likely to face bad results because of a mistake or bad situation
21
4.0
A situation where a person is in trouble because of something they did
11
8.1
About to get into trouble because of something you did
4
9.3
In trouble because of a problem
3
5.9
A situation that causes serious trouble
1
9.1
Feeling very tired and stressed because of strong pressure
Antonyms
How Troubled
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + hot + water
The literal parts ('in' + 'hot' + 'water') evoke being physically in unpleasant or dangerous conditions, so a learner might infer a general sense of trouble or discomfort, but the specific idiomatic sense 'in trouble (because of one’s actions)' is not a straightforward compositional meaning. This is a metaphorical extension rather than fully predictable composition and is not universally mirrored across languages, so prior exposure is usually needed for full understanding.
Etymology
The idiom in hot water may come from the image of a person standing in hot water, feeling burned and in danger. So, to be in hot water means 'in trouble' or 'in a difficult situation' because the picture shows pain and danger.