in a mess
9
1.6
- idiom
:
en un lío
- The country's in a mess, and it isn't like I've never taken cash for my labor.
- get in a mess
- leave things in a mess
- country is in a mess
Went through the shop door, she's there in a mess.
- Went through the shop door, she's there in a mess.
- The economy's in a mess, but the stock market's at all time high, right?
- So I what actually happened was I was in a mess and I ended up unconscious on the floor at work.
- I'm saying to you, we're in a mess and we need a a solution to all of them.
Examples
-
When a person finds himself in a mess, he should take steps to clean it up.
Blog text (9) -
I'm afraid we left his ship in a mess.
Fiction book (1999) -
My hair is in a mess.
-
How can I work in a mess like that?
-
I am in a mess.
-
Always leave everything in a mess.
-
Looks like every time we get together, things are in a mess.
Fiction book (1993) -
The economy's in a mess, but the stock market's at all time high, right?
-
You’re really in a mess this time.
Fiction book (1992) -
After the party, the living room was in a mess with empty cups and streamers everywhere.
Synonyms
233
1.0
Not tidy or clean, with things in the wrong place
155
2.0
Untidy and done without care
38
3.1
Not in a clear order or plan
21
6.1
Having messy hair, clothes, or things around them
11
1.0
Not neat, with things like papers or clothes left around
7
4.5
Not arranged in a clear or tidy way
4
4.5
A place or thing that is untidy and not in order
1
8.7
Very badly organized and causing confusion
Not neat or in order
Not in order and untidy after being moved
Mixed together in a confused and untidy way
Mixed up in a confused way
Messy and jumbled so people cannot understand it
With much hurry and disorder
In a confused, hurried way with no order
Antonyms
How Messy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'in a state of disorder' is directly and transparently derived from 'in' (locative preposition) + 'a' (indefinite article) + 'mess' (clutter/disorder). This simple preposition + article + noun composition follows regular English patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
In a mess comes from the simple image of standing in a messy room where papers, clothes and cups are everywhere and you are surrounded by a mess. So, to say someone is in a mess means they are 'not organized' or 'in disorder'.