Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Out of the Frying Pan¹ and Into the Fire

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning² English.

On this program, we explore idioms, or expressions, in the English language. We give examples and notes on usage³. And, sometimes we even use them in short stories.

Today we talk about bad situations. Sometimes we think a situation is very bad. We cannot imagine that it can get any worse. But then it does.

We have an expression for just that situation – out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Imagine we are camping. The area is near a small river. So, for dinner, we decide to go fishing. Fish cooked over a campfire is a tasty meal indeed. We start the fire. We add butter and onions to the frying pan. When it heats up, we add the fish.

In the frying pan, the fish is in a very bad situation. It flips⁵ violently back and forth⁶. It tries to get out of the hot frying pan. Finally, the fish flips out of the frying pan but lands in the fire.

The idiom out of the frying pan and into the fire means you leave a bad situation purposefully only to find yourself in a much worse situation. You thought you were improving it, but the opposite happened.

Sometimes, this saying describes a choice between two equally difficult options.

Here is another example. Let's say your friend complains about his job all the time. He says his commute⁷ to the office is too long and the pay is too low. You remind him that he gets great benefits, and he has the freedom to set his own hours. You tell him that no job is perfect. But he does not listen. He leaves his job and starts another one. When you talk to him a month later, this is how the conversation might go.

A: Hey, how is the new job going?

B: To be honest ... not so good.

A: Oh no! What's wrong?

B: Well, I used to set my own hours. My new job has a strict 9-to-5 policy.

A: Being about to set your own hours is a big plus.

B: And my take-home pay might be more. But I have to pay so much more for health insurance. And I have to pay for a parking space.

A: Sounds like you've jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

B: Please don't remind me.

And here is a final note on usage. If the friend in this conversation simply said, "Sounds like you just jumped out of the frying pan," we would know they mean this expression.

Some word experts say this phrase comes from very early Greek poetry. Those early poets used the expression to describe the process of trying to escape smoke and getting burned by the flames instead.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

Do you have a question about an idiom or expression? Send us an email to voalearningenglish.com and let us know!

Words in This Story

flip⁴ – v. to toss⁸ so as to cause to turn over in the air

option – n. something that may be chosen

commute – n. the distance covered from one place to another

strict – adj. severe in discipline

take-home pay – adj. income remaining from salary or wages after deductions⁹ (as for income-tax withholding)

remind – v. to put in mind of something : cause to remember

1 pan   

n.平底锅；v.严厉批评

参考例句：

• The water had all boiled away and the pan was burned.水煮干了，锅也烧坏了。
• The eggs were frying in the pan.鸡蛋正在锅里煎。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

4 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

5 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

8 toss   

n./v.突然抬起，摇摆，扔

参考例句：

• Let's toss to see who pays it.让我们来掷钱币决定谁付账吧。
• The matter made him toss in the bed.那件事使他在床上翻来覆去。

9 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。