ox is in the ditch
(idiomatic, chiefly, southern, _, US) This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
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(idiomatic, chiefly, southern, _, US) This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Semantically related
- knee-deep in the Big Muddy61%
(chiefly, US, idiomatic) Stuck in a predicament; mired in a difficult situation, especially one resulting from poor judgment or bad leadership.
- hurler on the ditch59%
(figuratively, Ireland, idiomatic) An opinionated person who offers (unsolicited and often unwanted) advice on the best way to handle a situation.
- hitch in one's get-along58%
(US, slang) A problem or impediment.
- ditch out58%
(slang, intransitive) To hurry away; to leave secretly and quickly.
- hitch in one's get-along57%
An American folk expression meaning a problem, snag, or impediment that slows you down or disrupts your progress — literally, a catch or hitch in the way you're getting along. The phrase has a pleasingly homespun, frontier-era quality, conjuring images of someone limping slightly on the trail. While rare in everyday modern speech, it occasionally surfaces in literary Americana, country music, and nostalgic Southern or Midwestern idiom.