A FISH OUT OF WATER

You might describe yourself as “a fish out of water” if you feel that you are in an inappropriate or uncomfortable environment or situation.

 Like “piping hot,” this phrase is credited to Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote that “A monk when he is reckless [fails to do his duty] is like a fish that is waterless” [1].

 Examples of use:

 “He felt like ‘a fish out of water’ there, he said, so he moved back to his place in London in 2013.”

 “I suppose what I’m saying is that, even if you get off to the shakiest start, and feel like a fish out of water, things can change so much for the better.”

 “Neither speaks, both have been persecuted; they are misunderstood fish out of water suffering at the hands of an arrogant, unsympathetic society that only respects ‘winners’ who reflect its own hard-bitten, narrow-minded values.”

 [1] Cresswell, Julia. “fish” in The Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Oxford University Press, 2009.

 Photo credit: Stan Lupo