Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of kettle of fish

35 similar words

Another word for kettle of fish is trouble. Other synonyms of kettle of fish are fix, jam, bind, dilemma and quandary.

Synonyms and similar words for kettle of fish

nounAn awkward situation.

  • cauldronAn unsettled or difficult situation or place.
  • mess
  • can of wormsUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see can, worm.
  • predicament
  • ass in a sling vulgarAn uncomfortable personal state of affairs involving injury, defeat, or other trouble, especially a state of affairs...
  • bindA troublesome situation; a problem; a predicament or quandary.
  • bucket of syrupA sticky, difficult situation.
  • calvary
  • cross figuratively
  • cross to bearA problem, or unpleasant or painful situation or person that one has to accept and deal with, although one finds it...
  • difficulty
  • dilemmaAny difficult circumstance or problem.
  • dire straitsA difficult position or situation.
  • doghouse
  • fixA difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma; a predicament.
  • hole
  • jamA difficult situation.
  • kettle
  • ordeal
  • pickleA difficult situation; peril.
  • pinchAn awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.
  • plight
  • quandaryA state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or...
  • quagmireA perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle.
  • situationA difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.
  • spotA difficult situation.
  • spot of botherA slight problem; a small predicament.
  • sticky situationA difficult or unfortunate situation.
  • sticky wicketA difficult or unpredictable situation.
  • tight spotA difficult position.
  • troubleA distressing or dangerous situation.

nounA situation recognized as different from or as an alternative to some other situation.

Meaning of kettle of fish

  1. noun An awkward situation.
  2. noun A situation recognized as different from or as an alternative to some other situation.

Full definition of kettle of fish

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Questions about synonyms of kettle of fish

What is another word for kettle of fish?
Kettle of fish has 35 synonyms on Word.ws, such as trouble, fix, jam, bind, dilemma, quandary, situation and pinch.
What does kettle of fish mean?
Kettle of fish means an awkward situation.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kettle of fish (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of kettle of fish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/kettle_of_fish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.