ox is in the ditch
ox is in the ditch phrase: this is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
Phrase
the ox is in the ditch
- This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
- "The ox is in the ditch," said she, referring to the New Testament excuse for Sabbath work where the need is great, "and Billy must mend this gate if it is Sunday."1904, Clifton Johnson, Highways and Byways of the South, Macmillan, page 169
- In talking to his staff, Lyndon B. Johnson always announced the onset of catastrophe with the statement: "The ox is in the ditch!"1987 March 6, George Reedy, “Can the President Still Lead?”, in New York Times, retrieved 07 Nov 2008
ox is in the ditch meaning in Bengali
ox is in the ditch in Bengali
- সামনে অনিবার্য, কঠিন কাজ রয়েছে
Origin of ox is in the ditch
An allusion to the urgency and difficulty of extracting an ox from a ditch in which it has become mired.
Questions about ox is in the ditch
- What does ox is in the ditch mean?
- Ox is in the ditch means this is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead.
- What is ox is in the ditch in Bengali?
- Ox is in the ditch in Bengali is সামনে অনিবার্য, কঠিন কাজ রয়েছে. See Ox is in the ditch meaning in Bengali.
- What part of speech is ox is in the ditch?
- Ox is in the ditch is a phrase.
Words near ox is in the ditch in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ox is in the ditch (page history and authors); ox is in the ditch (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-ox is in the ditch.ogg.
Cite this entry: “ox is in the ditch.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ox_is_in_the_ditch. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.