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kettle of fish. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
kettle of fish, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
kettle of fish in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From kettle, a variant of kiddle, a weir or fence of stakes in a stream used to catch fish.
Pronunciation
Noun
kettle of fish (plural kettles of fish)
- (idiomatic) An awkward situation.
- Synonyms: can of worms, predicament; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation
2004, Ellen Raskin, chapter 13, in The Westing Game:"That's a fine kettle of fish," he exclaimed, then turned to his dinner companion. "Fine kettle of fish. I'm so hungry even that sounds good, and from the looks of this menu that's probably what I'll get."
- (idiomatic) A situation recognized as different from or as an alternative to some other situation.
- Synonyms: ball game, horse of a different color, pair of shoes
That is another kettle of fish entirely.
2023 November 29, Richard Foster, “Tyne & Wear Metro goes with the flow”, in RAIL, number 997, page 34:Network Rail would have faced a bigger issue. Maintaining the track for one freight train a day is one thing - doing so for 200 passenger trains a day was a very different kettle of fish.
Translations
different or alternative situation