be up a/the creek (without a paddle)

slang To be in a challenging or troublesome situation, especially one that cannot be easily resolved. I have no savings, so if I get fired from my job, I'll be up the creek without a paddle. Shouldn't we stop for gas? We'll be up a creek if the car dies on that desolate road ahead. If the caterer can't make it to the event tomorrow night, then we are definitely up a creek without a paddle!

be up the creek without a paddle

be in severe difficulty, usually with no means of extricating yourself from it. informal

Often shortened to be up the creek , this expression is recorded in the mid 20th century as military slang for ‘lost’ (for example, while on a patrol).