# in a pickle

> English word · Prep_phrase

## Definitions
1. In a difficult situation or a troubling quandary.

## Etymology
The term refers to being in pickling solution, presumably unpleasant. It was first used in English by William Shakespeare in The Tempest (1611), although the phrase had been used in Dutch earlier.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/in-a-pickle