a fine kettle of fish
idiom

- an awkward, difficult, or bad situation

- a complicated, awkward, or messy situation

Dictionary Com, Oxford Languages

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PHRASE ORIGIN

The phrase "a fine kettle of fish" has two possible origins:

1. Scottish picnics/feasts: In Scotland, a "kettle of fish" originally referred to a large cooking pot used for outdoor cooking at picnics alongside rivers. Salmon would be freshly caught and cooked in these kettles. These festive outdoor cooking events themselves came to be known as "kettles of fish." Eventually, the phrase took on an ironic meaning when these outdoor feasts became chaotic or disorganized.

2. Literal cooking reference: Another theory suggests it derives from the literal mess created when cooking fish in a kettle, which could be quite messy and smelly.

The earliest documented use with its modern meaning (a mess or awkward situation) appears in Thomas Newte's "A Tour in England and Scotland" from 1785: "It would be a pretty kettle of fish."

Over time, "pretty kettle of fish" evolved to "fine kettle of fish," with "fine" being used ironically to describe something that is actually problematic or messy. The modern version of the phrase was well established by the early 19th century and continues to be used to describe complicated or troublesome situations.

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“A DIFFERENT KETTLE OF FISH”

However, while we’re on the subject of “fish kettles”, notice the difference in meaning between the two phrases “a fine kettle of fish” and “a different kettle of fish”:

- A different kettle of fish = Ein ganz anderes Paar Schuhe
- That's a different kettle of fish (altogether) = Das steht auf einem anderen Blatt, das sind zwei Paar Stiefel

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32 SYNONYMS

a bit of a mess, a can of worms, a catch-22, a cloud of bees, a complicated situation, a dog's breakfast (dinner), a fine how-do-you-do, A FINE KETTLE OF FISH, a fine mess, a royal mess, a fine/nice/pretty pickle, a fine/pretty state of affairs, a hell of a mess, a holy mess, a mess (and a half), a muddle, a quagmire, a rat's nest, a real stinker, a right mess (muddle), a tangled web, a thorny issue, a total shambles, a tricky spot, all at sixes and sevens, an awkward position (state of affairs), an imbroglio, chaos, disarray, discombobulation, disruption, drama, flap, hot water

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