in a bit of a jimjam
- idiom
- Archaic
- 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
5
8.6
Feeling very nervous and confused about something
3
8.2
A sudden state of confusion and panic that makes someone lose control
2
2.5
Being in a state of disorder or confusion
1
5.2
With much hurry and disorder
Feeling confused and worried before an important event
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'.