OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE

The phrase “out of the frying pan into the fire” is used to describe moving from a bad situation to a worse one.

 Examples:

 “Out of the frying pan and into the fire. That was the fate of a man who, after being arrested for one offence, tried to wriggle his way out by bribing a member of the arresting team, which then got him arrested again.”

 “The simplest way to avoid most Google products is to switch to the Microsoft or Apple equivalents, in whole or in part. Some would see this as jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.”

 “There’s a sense of out of the frying pan and into the fire for Bristol Rovers who, having been alarmingly beaten 4-1 at Doncaster Rovers, now take on League One leaders Luton Town who are in startling form.”


 This phrase also features as the title for Chapter VI of J R R Tolkien’s book, “The Hobbit,” [1] which describes how the central character escapes from goblins only to be caught by wolves.


 [1] The Hobbit (p. 99). J R R Tolkien. HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

 Photo credit: erik langner (Creative Commons)