dire straits

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dire straits

Where it comes from

First use appears c. 1817. See cite below. The phrase stems from nautical terminology, where straits refers to narrow, treacherous passages of water between landmasses, posing serious navigation risks.

noun dire straights

idiomatic, plural, plural only A difficult position or situation. After being shipwrecked on the island, we were in dire straits.
Similar: ass in a sling, bind, bucket of syrup, calvary, cauldron, cross, cross to bear, difficulty, dilemma, dire straits, doghouse, fix

Translations

Every language

noun difficult position

Español	gran aprieto
日本語	四苦八苦 shikuhakku
中文	水深火熱 /水深火热 shuǐshēnhuǒrè
Português	apuro, aperto, saia justa, maus lençóis
Français	mauvaise passe
Deutsch	furchtbare Notlage, große Not, schlimme Lage
Română	situație disperată
Русский	отча́янное положе́ние otčájannoje položénije, бе́дственное положе́ние bédstvennoje položénije, больша́я беда́ bolʹšája bedá

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MLA

"dire straits." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dire%20straits. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dire straits. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dire%20straits

Chicago

"dire straits." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dire%20straits.

BibTeX

@misc{dire_straits_2026,
  title = {dire straits},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dire%20straits},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}