pickle

[bill888]

where did the phrase 'in a pickle' originate?

[bill888]

PICKLES, I RELISH THEM

[Quizmonster]

'Pickle', meaning a disagreeable situation or predicament dates back to the 1500s, as does the concept of being 'in a pickle'.

[Pickle]

I couldn't pass this question up! To add further evidence for Quizmonster's answer - Shakespeare used the phrase 'in a pickle' in the Tempest, thus: ALONSO And Trinculo is reeling ripe: where should they Find this grand liquor that hath gilded 'em? How camest thou in this pickle? TRINCULO I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last that, I fear me, will never out of my bones: I shall not fear fly-blowing.

[Canib]

There was a bouncer in a bar in New York in the mid 1800s named Gallus Mags. If she thought that you were being unruly, she dragged you out by your hair or your ears. If she thought that you were a REAL pain, then she bit OFF an ear or two and put it into a pickling brine which was prominently displayed. Being "in a pickle" was definitely a bad thing!