up the creek

English

Alternative forms

• up a creek, up a creek without a paddle, up the creek without a paddle

Etymology

American English.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

up the creek

1. (idiomatic) In trouble; in a difficult situation.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:difficult situation

   We'll be up the creek if we lose those files, so we should back them up regularly.

   • 1925, John Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, 3rd section, page 306:

     “Then we would be up the creek. You can be extradited for grand larceny. Jez you wouldnt^[sic] have me goin^[sic] round with dark glasses and false whiskers all my life.”

Usage notes

• The addition of "without a paddle" in alternative forms is considered by some to suggest an intensification of the difficulty of the situation.

Synonyms

• up shit creek

Translations

in trouble — see in trouble

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “up the creek (without a paddle)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang