fat hit the fire
the fat hit the fire
The point at which a situation abruptly, and perhaps drastically, worsens. Mom already seemed annoyed, but the fat really hit the fire when she found out that you'd been lying to her.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*fat hit the fire
Fig. a situation that suddenly becomes frantic and unpleasant. (*Typically: suddenly ~; then ~; when ~.) Things were looking bad in the stock market, then the fat hit the fire and I lost everything.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.