in a fix
3
7.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
en un aprieto
- When my car broke down in the middle of nowhere, I knew I was in a fix.
- put me in a fix
Examples
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Tells you what you're supposed to do when you get in a fix.
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Well, whenever i was in a fix, jim, i'd just try to figure out what you'd do.
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Oh, a friend of mine got himself in a fix.
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You sure are in a fix.
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The rent is due, I'm in a fix
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The truth is, I'm in a fix, and a great lady like you might have an opinion worth hearing.
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So how'd you two guys wind up in a fix like this?
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But talking to Fuchs has put me in a fix.
Fiction book (2000) -
The way I see it... ...you're in a fix and I'm in a position to help.
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"You're in a fix." "Laugh all ye like, girly," he said tiredly, "but get me out of here." "I don't know," she drawled.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
1
8.6
A small problem that causes worry and needs help
Antonyms
How Troubled
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'in' + 'a' + 'fix', and the noun 'fix' already carries the meaning 'predicament/troublesome situation', so a learner who knows the constituents can derive the idiomatic meaning. The construction is a straightforward preposition + article + noun pattern common across languages, making the expression immediately interpretable for B1 learners.
Etymology
In a fix may come from the image of something being fixed in place, like a cart wheel stuck on a rock so it cannot move. That's why it now means 'in trouble' or 'stuck'.