A proverb that is used to imply that you have unexpectedly faced a big problem Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern) Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?Is there a proverb that means “to solve two problems at once”?An idiom or proverb for very easy to find but you are unable to see the object, which is very beside or close to youIs there a proverb meaning that “one cannot give what one does not herself have”?A proverb/expression to imply: “he/she may has lost everything, but it doesnt mean that they has lost their dignity too.”

Mounting TV in Weird Wall

How to ternary Plot3D a function

Positioning dot before text in math mode

Universal covering space of the real projective line?

How does light 'choose' between wave and particle behaviour?

BITCOIN: on a chart what does it mean for the USD price to be higher then marketcap?

Google .dev domain strangely redirects to https

Test print coming out spongy

What order were files/directories output in dir?

Tannaka duality for semisimple groups

Does any scripture mention that forms of God or Goddess are symbolic?

What is the difference between a "ranged attack" and a "ranged weapon attack"?

How did Fremen produce and carry enough thumpers to use Sandworms as de facto Ubers?

Is CEO the "profession" with the most psychopaths?

Central Vacuuming: Is it worth it, and how does it compare to normal vacuuming?

Why datecode is SO IMPORTANT to chip manufacturers?

What to do with repeated rejections for phd position

What adaptations would allow standard fantasy dwarves to survive in the desert?

Mechanism of oxidative dearomatisation with hypervalent iodine

Do I really need to have a message in a novel to appeal to readers?

What would you call this weird metallic apparatus that allows you to lift people?

Strange behavior of Object.defineProperty() in JavaScript

How many time has Arya actually used Needle?

In musical terms, what properties are varied by the human voice to produce different words / syllables?



A proverb that is used to imply that you have unexpectedly faced a big problem



Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?Is there a proverb that means “to solve two problems at once”?An idiom or proverb for very easy to find but you are unable to see the object, which is very beside or close to youIs there a proverb meaning that “one cannot give what one does not herself have”?A proverb/expression to imply: “he/she may has lost everything, but it doesnt mean that they has lost their dignity too.”



.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








3















What would you say when unexpectedly finding yourself in big trouble while everything itself is not going very well and an irrevocable, unpleasant happening takes place suddenly in the manner that you immediately notice that a big problem / a series of problems are about to begin. Please consider my self-made scenario below:





  • Son) There is a long distance between my apartment and the university where the conference would be held!

    I must leave at 2 to make a good time to the conference; it's 1 o'clock and I'm running out of time!
    Mother) So, whats wrong? Come on son! Move right now!
    Son) Oh, ..........................
    Mother) Why?! What's the matter again?
    Son) I just noticed that my car is broken!



In our language, there is a proverb to be used to fill in the blank which says:




  • My cow gave birth.



Even sometimes, in order to exagerate the situation we say:




  • "My cow has given birth to twin calves"!



Here is the outcome of my researches in this regard, which I have no any ideas whether using each one sounds natural and idiomatic in this sense! Meanwhile, I don't know if they are considered as old-fashioned expressions these days or somehow, some translated versions of a similar foreign saying:




  • That's the pretty kettle of fish!

  • That fat in the fire!

  • Here comes the trouble!

  • Our goose is cooked!

  • That crowns it all.

  • That's the end.



I would be appreciative if you could help me to find the closest idiom/expression/proverb for this case.










share|improve this question
























  • I'm curious what you native language is.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    @CowperKettle actually I know 6 languages including yours, but nationally I'm from Iran, lived and grown-up in some other countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sweden, Ukraine etc. :)

    – A-friend
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    Wow, impressive. I've only lived in two countries: Siberia and Urals.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    It's a reall pleasure to have you here @CowperKerrle! I'm sure we have already spoken together almost 3 years ago in a chat forum in stackexchange. ;)

    – A-friend
    50 mins ago

















3















What would you say when unexpectedly finding yourself in big trouble while everything itself is not going very well and an irrevocable, unpleasant happening takes place suddenly in the manner that you immediately notice that a big problem / a series of problems are about to begin. Please consider my self-made scenario below:





  • Son) There is a long distance between my apartment and the university where the conference would be held!

    I must leave at 2 to make a good time to the conference; it's 1 o'clock and I'm running out of time!
    Mother) So, whats wrong? Come on son! Move right now!
    Son) Oh, ..........................
    Mother) Why?! What's the matter again?
    Son) I just noticed that my car is broken!



In our language, there is a proverb to be used to fill in the blank which says:




  • My cow gave birth.



Even sometimes, in order to exagerate the situation we say:




  • "My cow has given birth to twin calves"!



Here is the outcome of my researches in this regard, which I have no any ideas whether using each one sounds natural and idiomatic in this sense! Meanwhile, I don't know if they are considered as old-fashioned expressions these days or somehow, some translated versions of a similar foreign saying:




  • That's the pretty kettle of fish!

  • That fat in the fire!

  • Here comes the trouble!

  • Our goose is cooked!

  • That crowns it all.

  • That's the end.



I would be appreciative if you could help me to find the closest idiom/expression/proverb for this case.










share|improve this question
























  • I'm curious what you native language is.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    @CowperKettle actually I know 6 languages including yours, but nationally I'm from Iran, lived and grown-up in some other countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sweden, Ukraine etc. :)

    – A-friend
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    Wow, impressive. I've only lived in two countries: Siberia and Urals.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    It's a reall pleasure to have you here @CowperKerrle! I'm sure we have already spoken together almost 3 years ago in a chat forum in stackexchange. ;)

    – A-friend
    50 mins ago













3












3








3








What would you say when unexpectedly finding yourself in big trouble while everything itself is not going very well and an irrevocable, unpleasant happening takes place suddenly in the manner that you immediately notice that a big problem / a series of problems are about to begin. Please consider my self-made scenario below:





  • Son) There is a long distance between my apartment and the university where the conference would be held!

    I must leave at 2 to make a good time to the conference; it's 1 o'clock and I'm running out of time!
    Mother) So, whats wrong? Come on son! Move right now!
    Son) Oh, ..........................
    Mother) Why?! What's the matter again?
    Son) I just noticed that my car is broken!



In our language, there is a proverb to be used to fill in the blank which says:




  • My cow gave birth.



Even sometimes, in order to exagerate the situation we say:




  • "My cow has given birth to twin calves"!



Here is the outcome of my researches in this regard, which I have no any ideas whether using each one sounds natural and idiomatic in this sense! Meanwhile, I don't know if they are considered as old-fashioned expressions these days or somehow, some translated versions of a similar foreign saying:




  • That's the pretty kettle of fish!

  • That fat in the fire!

  • Here comes the trouble!

  • Our goose is cooked!

  • That crowns it all.

  • That's the end.



I would be appreciative if you could help me to find the closest idiom/expression/proverb for this case.










share|improve this question
















What would you say when unexpectedly finding yourself in big trouble while everything itself is not going very well and an irrevocable, unpleasant happening takes place suddenly in the manner that you immediately notice that a big problem / a series of problems are about to begin. Please consider my self-made scenario below:





  • Son) There is a long distance between my apartment and the university where the conference would be held!

    I must leave at 2 to make a good time to the conference; it's 1 o'clock and I'm running out of time!
    Mother) So, whats wrong? Come on son! Move right now!
    Son) Oh, ..........................
    Mother) Why?! What's the matter again?
    Son) I just noticed that my car is broken!



In our language, there is a proverb to be used to fill in the blank which says:




  • My cow gave birth.



Even sometimes, in order to exagerate the situation we say:




  • "My cow has given birth to twin calves"!



Here is the outcome of my researches in this regard, which I have no any ideas whether using each one sounds natural and idiomatic in this sense! Meanwhile, I don't know if they are considered as old-fashioned expressions these days or somehow, some translated versions of a similar foreign saying:




  • That's the pretty kettle of fish!

  • That fat in the fire!

  • Here comes the trouble!

  • Our goose is cooked!

  • That crowns it all.

  • That's the end.



I would be appreciative if you could help me to find the closest idiom/expression/proverb for this case.







proverbs






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 52 mins ago







A-friend

















asked 2 hours ago









A-friendA-friend

4,2611670152




4,2611670152












  • I'm curious what you native language is.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    @CowperKettle actually I know 6 languages including yours, but nationally I'm from Iran, lived and grown-up in some other countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sweden, Ukraine etc. :)

    – A-friend
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    Wow, impressive. I've only lived in two countries: Siberia and Urals.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    It's a reall pleasure to have you here @CowperKerrle! I'm sure we have already spoken together almost 3 years ago in a chat forum in stackexchange. ;)

    – A-friend
    50 mins ago

















  • I'm curious what you native language is.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago






  • 1





    @CowperKettle actually I know 6 languages including yours, but nationally I'm from Iran, lived and grown-up in some other countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sweden, Ukraine etc. :)

    – A-friend
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    Wow, impressive. I've only lived in two countries: Siberia and Urals.

    – CowperKettle
    1 hour ago







  • 1





    It's a reall pleasure to have you here @CowperKerrle! I'm sure we have already spoken together almost 3 years ago in a chat forum in stackexchange. ;)

    – A-friend
    50 mins ago
















I'm curious what you native language is.

– CowperKettle
1 hour ago





I'm curious what you native language is.

– CowperKettle
1 hour ago




1




1





@CowperKettle actually I know 6 languages including yours, but nationally I'm from Iran, lived and grown-up in some other countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sweden, Ukraine etc. :)

– A-friend
1 hour ago






@CowperKettle actually I know 6 languages including yours, but nationally I'm from Iran, lived and grown-up in some other countries like Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sweden, Ukraine etc. :)

– A-friend
1 hour ago





1




1





Wow, impressive. I've only lived in two countries: Siberia and Urals.

– CowperKettle
1 hour ago






Wow, impressive. I've only lived in two countries: Siberia and Urals.

– CowperKettle
1 hour ago





1




1





It's a reall pleasure to have you here @CowperKerrle! I'm sure we have already spoken together almost 3 years ago in a chat forum in stackexchange. ;)

– A-friend
50 mins ago





It's a reall pleasure to have you here @CowperKerrle! I'm sure we have already spoken together almost 3 years ago in a chat forum in stackexchange. ;)

– A-friend
50 mins ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















2














Of the suggested expressions "That crowns it" is an ironic way of saying that something is the thing that finishes off the problem. That seems the most appropriate expression in this situation.



A similar, but slightly different meaning is "That's the straw that broke the donkey's back", meaning the small thing that wouldn't be a big problem, except it came after lots of other problems.



But using these proverbs is not very natural. When native speakers use them it is usually referring to the proverb, not just using it.




They talk about "the straw that broke the donkey's back". Well ...




In this situation, the language that people use would probably be a lot coarser.




Mom: Come on son, move right now!

Son: Oh Bugger!

Mom: What's the matter?




There are lots of other coarse words, some of which you might not want to say in front of you mother, depending on how sensitive she is. (Bugger is a British only expression)



Or you could say something like "That's all I need!"



To describe the situation you might say "I'm up the creek without a paddle" But this is usually "I'm up shit creek (without a paddle)". You might also say that the person is "screwed". So if we put it together:




Bugger. Well I'm really up shit creek now. The conference is in two hours, there's an hour's drive to the university and to crown it all my car won't start. I'm basically screwed.







share|improve this answer























  • many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

    – A-friend
    27 mins ago











  • Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

    – A-friend
    24 mins ago



















1














There are some minor issues with the examples you suggested. Here are revised versions, with comments:




That's a pretty kettle of fish!




For no clear reason, this is always "a", never "the" It is also a bit old-fashioned. I don't recall the last time I herd this outside of a novel set quite a while ago, say the early 1900s or before.




The fat is in the fire!




Always said in these words, never 'that fat" and never without the "is" or a contracted "is" in the form of "'s". Also a bit old-fashioned, not really current usage.




Here comes trouble!




Never with "the". Usually indicates a specific problem beleived to be imminent, or the approach of a person who is likely to cause a problem. Not used for the accumulation of several problems as described in the question.




Our goose is cooked!




Can also be "my goose" or "your goose". A bit old-fashioned, but still in current use.




That crowns it all.




Not in current use, and not to my knowledge ever in really wide use. I would avoid this.




That's the end.




Perfectly acceptable, but not really a proverb or traditional saying.



At least in US English, the use of proverbs or traditional sayings as idioms is much less common than it was, say, 100 years ago.



People now might say:




Oh, What a mess!



We've got serious problems here!




(or "a serious problem here")




Houston, we've got a problem




Refers to the typically understated phrasing used by astronauts to report a very serious possibly life-threatening, issue. Mission control for all US manned space travail was in Houston. This phrase became iconic.




The world just landed on me.



That's the last straw.




Implies an accumulation of problems, and the latest one is just too much. alludes to 'The straw that broke the camel's back" the final tiny increase of load which causes catastrophe.






share|improve this answer























    Your Answer








    StackExchange.ready(function()
    var channelOptions =
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "481"
    ;
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
    createEditor();
    );

    else
    createEditor();

    );

    function createEditor()
    StackExchange.prepareEditor(
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: false,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: null,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader:
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    ,
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    );



    );













    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function ()
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f206342%2fa-proverb-that-is-used-to-imply-that-you-have-unexpectedly-faced-a-big-problem%23new-answer', 'question_page');

    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    2














    Of the suggested expressions "That crowns it" is an ironic way of saying that something is the thing that finishes off the problem. That seems the most appropriate expression in this situation.



    A similar, but slightly different meaning is "That's the straw that broke the donkey's back", meaning the small thing that wouldn't be a big problem, except it came after lots of other problems.



    But using these proverbs is not very natural. When native speakers use them it is usually referring to the proverb, not just using it.




    They talk about "the straw that broke the donkey's back". Well ...




    In this situation, the language that people use would probably be a lot coarser.




    Mom: Come on son, move right now!

    Son: Oh Bugger!

    Mom: What's the matter?




    There are lots of other coarse words, some of which you might not want to say in front of you mother, depending on how sensitive she is. (Bugger is a British only expression)



    Or you could say something like "That's all I need!"



    To describe the situation you might say "I'm up the creek without a paddle" But this is usually "I'm up shit creek (without a paddle)". You might also say that the person is "screwed". So if we put it together:




    Bugger. Well I'm really up shit creek now. The conference is in two hours, there's an hour's drive to the university and to crown it all my car won't start. I'm basically screwed.







    share|improve this answer























    • many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

      – A-friend
      27 mins ago











    • Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

      – A-friend
      24 mins ago
















    2














    Of the suggested expressions "That crowns it" is an ironic way of saying that something is the thing that finishes off the problem. That seems the most appropriate expression in this situation.



    A similar, but slightly different meaning is "That's the straw that broke the donkey's back", meaning the small thing that wouldn't be a big problem, except it came after lots of other problems.



    But using these proverbs is not very natural. When native speakers use them it is usually referring to the proverb, not just using it.




    They talk about "the straw that broke the donkey's back". Well ...




    In this situation, the language that people use would probably be a lot coarser.




    Mom: Come on son, move right now!

    Son: Oh Bugger!

    Mom: What's the matter?




    There are lots of other coarse words, some of which you might not want to say in front of you mother, depending on how sensitive she is. (Bugger is a British only expression)



    Or you could say something like "That's all I need!"



    To describe the situation you might say "I'm up the creek without a paddle" But this is usually "I'm up shit creek (without a paddle)". You might also say that the person is "screwed". So if we put it together:




    Bugger. Well I'm really up shit creek now. The conference is in two hours, there's an hour's drive to the university and to crown it all my car won't start. I'm basically screwed.







    share|improve this answer























    • many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

      – A-friend
      27 mins ago











    • Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

      – A-friend
      24 mins ago














    2












    2








    2







    Of the suggested expressions "That crowns it" is an ironic way of saying that something is the thing that finishes off the problem. That seems the most appropriate expression in this situation.



    A similar, but slightly different meaning is "That's the straw that broke the donkey's back", meaning the small thing that wouldn't be a big problem, except it came after lots of other problems.



    But using these proverbs is not very natural. When native speakers use them it is usually referring to the proverb, not just using it.




    They talk about "the straw that broke the donkey's back". Well ...




    In this situation, the language that people use would probably be a lot coarser.




    Mom: Come on son, move right now!

    Son: Oh Bugger!

    Mom: What's the matter?




    There are lots of other coarse words, some of which you might not want to say in front of you mother, depending on how sensitive she is. (Bugger is a British only expression)



    Or you could say something like "That's all I need!"



    To describe the situation you might say "I'm up the creek without a paddle" But this is usually "I'm up shit creek (without a paddle)". You might also say that the person is "screwed". So if we put it together:




    Bugger. Well I'm really up shit creek now. The conference is in two hours, there's an hour's drive to the university and to crown it all my car won't start. I'm basically screwed.







    share|improve this answer













    Of the suggested expressions "That crowns it" is an ironic way of saying that something is the thing that finishes off the problem. That seems the most appropriate expression in this situation.



    A similar, but slightly different meaning is "That's the straw that broke the donkey's back", meaning the small thing that wouldn't be a big problem, except it came after lots of other problems.



    But using these proverbs is not very natural. When native speakers use them it is usually referring to the proverb, not just using it.




    They talk about "the straw that broke the donkey's back". Well ...




    In this situation, the language that people use would probably be a lot coarser.




    Mom: Come on son, move right now!

    Son: Oh Bugger!

    Mom: What's the matter?




    There are lots of other coarse words, some of which you might not want to say in front of you mother, depending on how sensitive she is. (Bugger is a British only expression)



    Or you could say something like "That's all I need!"



    To describe the situation you might say "I'm up the creek without a paddle" But this is usually "I'm up shit creek (without a paddle)". You might also say that the person is "screwed". So if we put it together:




    Bugger. Well I'm really up shit creek now. The conference is in two hours, there's an hour's drive to the university and to crown it all my car won't start. I'm basically screwed.








    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered 1 hour ago









    James KJames K

    42k145105




    42k145105












    • many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

      – A-friend
      27 mins ago











    • Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

      – A-friend
      24 mins ago


















    • many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

      – A-friend
      27 mins ago











    • Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

      – A-friend
      24 mins ago

















    many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

    – A-friend
    27 mins ago





    many thanks to you for the great, innovative response. Just for more clarification, I wonder whether you could let me know a little more about these ambiguities of mine. Although you have already explained, but I still don't know the precise meaning of: "I'm really up shit creek", to crown it all..." and "I'm screwed"!

    – A-friend
    27 mins ago













    Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

    – A-friend
    24 mins ago






    Meanwhile, @James K , as far as I realized, you mentioned that "That crowns it" can stand alone and still make a perfect sense in my case; right?

    – A-friend
    24 mins ago














    1














    There are some minor issues with the examples you suggested. Here are revised versions, with comments:




    That's a pretty kettle of fish!




    For no clear reason, this is always "a", never "the" It is also a bit old-fashioned. I don't recall the last time I herd this outside of a novel set quite a while ago, say the early 1900s or before.




    The fat is in the fire!




    Always said in these words, never 'that fat" and never without the "is" or a contracted "is" in the form of "'s". Also a bit old-fashioned, not really current usage.




    Here comes trouble!




    Never with "the". Usually indicates a specific problem beleived to be imminent, or the approach of a person who is likely to cause a problem. Not used for the accumulation of several problems as described in the question.




    Our goose is cooked!




    Can also be "my goose" or "your goose". A bit old-fashioned, but still in current use.




    That crowns it all.




    Not in current use, and not to my knowledge ever in really wide use. I would avoid this.




    That's the end.




    Perfectly acceptable, but not really a proverb or traditional saying.



    At least in US English, the use of proverbs or traditional sayings as idioms is much less common than it was, say, 100 years ago.



    People now might say:




    Oh, What a mess!



    We've got serious problems here!




    (or "a serious problem here")




    Houston, we've got a problem




    Refers to the typically understated phrasing used by astronauts to report a very serious possibly life-threatening, issue. Mission control for all US manned space travail was in Houston. This phrase became iconic.




    The world just landed on me.



    That's the last straw.




    Implies an accumulation of problems, and the latest one is just too much. alludes to 'The straw that broke the camel's back" the final tiny increase of load which causes catastrophe.






    share|improve this answer



























      1














      There are some minor issues with the examples you suggested. Here are revised versions, with comments:




      That's a pretty kettle of fish!




      For no clear reason, this is always "a", never "the" It is also a bit old-fashioned. I don't recall the last time I herd this outside of a novel set quite a while ago, say the early 1900s or before.




      The fat is in the fire!




      Always said in these words, never 'that fat" and never without the "is" or a contracted "is" in the form of "'s". Also a bit old-fashioned, not really current usage.




      Here comes trouble!




      Never with "the". Usually indicates a specific problem beleived to be imminent, or the approach of a person who is likely to cause a problem. Not used for the accumulation of several problems as described in the question.




      Our goose is cooked!




      Can also be "my goose" or "your goose". A bit old-fashioned, but still in current use.




      That crowns it all.




      Not in current use, and not to my knowledge ever in really wide use. I would avoid this.




      That's the end.




      Perfectly acceptable, but not really a proverb or traditional saying.



      At least in US English, the use of proverbs or traditional sayings as idioms is much less common than it was, say, 100 years ago.



      People now might say:




      Oh, What a mess!



      We've got serious problems here!




      (or "a serious problem here")




      Houston, we've got a problem




      Refers to the typically understated phrasing used by astronauts to report a very serious possibly life-threatening, issue. Mission control for all US manned space travail was in Houston. This phrase became iconic.




      The world just landed on me.



      That's the last straw.




      Implies an accumulation of problems, and the latest one is just too much. alludes to 'The straw that broke the camel's back" the final tiny increase of load which causes catastrophe.






      share|improve this answer

























        1












        1








        1







        There are some minor issues with the examples you suggested. Here are revised versions, with comments:




        That's a pretty kettle of fish!




        For no clear reason, this is always "a", never "the" It is also a bit old-fashioned. I don't recall the last time I herd this outside of a novel set quite a while ago, say the early 1900s or before.




        The fat is in the fire!




        Always said in these words, never 'that fat" and never without the "is" or a contracted "is" in the form of "'s". Also a bit old-fashioned, not really current usage.




        Here comes trouble!




        Never with "the". Usually indicates a specific problem beleived to be imminent, or the approach of a person who is likely to cause a problem. Not used for the accumulation of several problems as described in the question.




        Our goose is cooked!




        Can also be "my goose" or "your goose". A bit old-fashioned, but still in current use.




        That crowns it all.




        Not in current use, and not to my knowledge ever in really wide use. I would avoid this.




        That's the end.




        Perfectly acceptable, but not really a proverb or traditional saying.



        At least in US English, the use of proverbs or traditional sayings as idioms is much less common than it was, say, 100 years ago.



        People now might say:




        Oh, What a mess!



        We've got serious problems here!




        (or "a serious problem here")




        Houston, we've got a problem




        Refers to the typically understated phrasing used by astronauts to report a very serious possibly life-threatening, issue. Mission control for all US manned space travail was in Houston. This phrase became iconic.




        The world just landed on me.



        That's the last straw.




        Implies an accumulation of problems, and the latest one is just too much. alludes to 'The straw that broke the camel's back" the final tiny increase of load which causes catastrophe.






        share|improve this answer













        There are some minor issues with the examples you suggested. Here are revised versions, with comments:




        That's a pretty kettle of fish!




        For no clear reason, this is always "a", never "the" It is also a bit old-fashioned. I don't recall the last time I herd this outside of a novel set quite a while ago, say the early 1900s or before.




        The fat is in the fire!




        Always said in these words, never 'that fat" and never without the "is" or a contracted "is" in the form of "'s". Also a bit old-fashioned, not really current usage.




        Here comes trouble!




        Never with "the". Usually indicates a specific problem beleived to be imminent, or the approach of a person who is likely to cause a problem. Not used for the accumulation of several problems as described in the question.




        Our goose is cooked!




        Can also be "my goose" or "your goose". A bit old-fashioned, but still in current use.




        That crowns it all.




        Not in current use, and not to my knowledge ever in really wide use. I would avoid this.




        That's the end.




        Perfectly acceptable, but not really a proverb or traditional saying.



        At least in US English, the use of proverbs or traditional sayings as idioms is much less common than it was, say, 100 years ago.



        People now might say:




        Oh, What a mess!



        We've got serious problems here!




        (or "a serious problem here")




        Houston, we've got a problem




        Refers to the typically understated phrasing used by astronauts to report a very serious possibly life-threatening, issue. Mission control for all US manned space travail was in Houston. This phrase became iconic.




        The world just landed on me.



        That's the last straw.




        Implies an accumulation of problems, and the latest one is just too much. alludes to 'The straw that broke the camel's back" the final tiny increase of load which causes catastrophe.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered 57 mins ago









        David SiegelDavid Siegel

        2,748215




        2,748215



























            draft saved

            draft discarded
















































            Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid


            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function ()
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f206342%2fa-proverb-that-is-used-to-imply-that-you-have-unexpectedly-faced-a-big-problem%23new-answer', 'question_page');

            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown