fat is in the fire
the fat is in the fire
Problems are about to begin. Just so you know, Mom found out you lied to her. The fat is in the fire now, huh?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
fat is in the fire
Prov. Matters have come to a crisis; trouble is about to start. Brother: Mom found out that we broke the clock. Sister: Uh-oh. The fat's in the fire now. The fat is in the fire at work; we're nowhere near finishing the project, but the deadline is in two days.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
fat is in the fire, the
It’s too late for a rescue; a crisis is imminent. This expression already appeared in John Heywood’s proverb collection of 1546 in its present form and has continued to be used with great regularity to the present day. A long-lived cliché that is by no means obsolete, it refers, of course, to the way a fire flares up when grease is spilled into it, an idea soon transferred to the more general sense that damage has been done.
See also: fat
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer