dire straits

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

dire straits pl (plural only)

1. A difficult position.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:difficult situation

   After being shipwrecked on the island, we were in dire straits.

   • 2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 50:

     "I understand the country is in dire straits and has a £2 trillion national debt. […] "

Translations

difficult position

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 水深火熱／水深火热 (zh) (shuǐshēnhuǒrè)

• Dutch: in het nauw
• Finnish: vaikeudet pl, hankaluudet pl; ahtaalla (adverb: in dire straits); kiipeli (fi) (informal)
• French: mauvaise passe (fr) f
• German: furchtbare Notlage f, große Not f, schlimme Lage f
• Hungarian: szükséghelyzet (hu)
• Japanese: 四苦八苦 (ja) (しくはっく, shikuhakku)
• Norwegian: urent farvann n, store vanskeligheter
• Polish: tarapaty (pl) nvir
• Portuguese: apuro (pt) m, aperto (pt) m, saia justa (pt) (slang), maus lençóis m pl (informal)
• Romanian: situație disperată f
• Russian: отча́янное положе́ние n (otčájannoje položénije), бе́дственное положе́ние n (bédstvennoje položénije), больша́я беда́ f (bolʹšája bedá)
• Serbo-Croatian: u škripcu
• Spanish: gran aprieto
• Swedish: trångmål (sv)