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Glite Dictionary
on toast

on toast

1 9.9
In trouble with people because of something someone did
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : estar en problemas
  • tuna on toast

Examples

  • Actually, it's quite good on toast.

    Shrek (2001)

  • Put me off beans on toast for life.

    Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

  • My mum was working overtime at Heathrow and I was trying to cook beans on toast.

    Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

  • After missing the deadline, he found himself really on toast with his boss.

  • When I couldn't pay my rent, I knew I was on toast and needed to find a solution fast.

  • She realized she was on toast after forgetting to prepare for the exam.

Synonyms

out on a limb
vson toast
  • Informal
54 7.0

In a risky position without support from others

is disadvantaged often because someone else put them there
in for it
vson toast
  • Informal
11 8.1

About to get into trouble because of something you did

faces trouble often because others caused it
in the firing line
vson toast
  • Informal
1 7.6

In a position where people may blame or criticize you

is in trouble more generally rather than mainly exposed to blame
left over a barrel
vson toast
  • Informal
8.7

In a situation where you cannot act freely and must accept someone else's decision

is disadvantaged generally rather than tied to one person's choice

Antonyms

advantaged
3 3.7

In a better position with more benefits and chances than others

How Troubled

doomed
7 4.9
on toast
  • Informal
1 9.9
in hot water
  • Informal
12 4.1
in trouble
∞ 2.9

Surface Forms

on toast main

Morphology

on + toast

The meaning depends largely on the slang sense of 'toast' (= doomed/finished) combined with the preposition 'on' that can mark a state (e.g. 'on fire', 'on duty'), so a learner who knows that slang sense could infer 'in trouble' from 'on toast'. However, the slang sense of 'toast' may be unfamiliar to B1 learners and the specific phrase 'on toast' is informal and not a regular compositional pattern, so the relation is only partially predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrase on toast may come from the simple image of bread put in a toaster: once the bread is toast it is 'done' and cannot be saved. So if someone says you are on toast, they mean you are 'in trouble' or 'finished'.