You might have heard the saying “Isn’t this a fine kettle of fish?” which sounds like something weirdly familiar, but is very cool even if unknown. It might be fun to say it on a crowded elevator, once anyway.
The phrase means a situation or process which is totally messed up or jumbled beyond immediate repair. The use of “kettle” here likely refers to the elongated english saucepan designed to cook or poach an entire fish, like so.
How such a cooking pan has come to mean a completely muddled up state of affairs is not entirely clear, but the first reference to “kettle of fish” is from mid-1700’s in England. Speculation is that after the feast the kettle would contain the rather chaotic remains of the unfortunate marine beastie, although this origin story is by no means certain. Over the decades the phrase was made into a generic “thing” referring to a less-than-ideal state of affairs.
And while we’re at it, why are we so afraid of a “can of worms”? If you open the proverbial can of worms they just slowly crawl out and make an awful mess on that kitchen countertop you JUST cleaned. Now a can of BEES, well that would be a whole other kettle of fish.
whoisfenton 