dire straits
Deep, serious trouble
Dire straits is a condition of extreme difficulty or distress.
The phrase uses the old sense of strait as a narrow, dangerous passage—the plural emphasizing how tight the situation is: The company was in dire straits after losing its biggest client.
Sometimes misspelled as "dire straights."
- difficultiesProblems to overcome
- troubleDifficulty or distress
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
- rock and a hard placeSituation with only bad choices
- emergencySerious sudden danger
worst case scenario · hardship · hard times · dilemma · peril · jeopardy · plight · distress · brink · desperate · on the ropes · bankruptcy · poverty · quagmire · catastrophe · calamity · destitution · rock bottom
- Danger Levelsdanger, high risk, high-risk, low risk, critical
- hardshiphardship, adversity, difficulty, trouble, struggle
- hardshipshardship, adversity, struggle, misfortune, difficulties
- emergencies911, ambulance, emergency, emergency room, ER
- sufferingagony, anguish, misery, pain, torment
- turning pointsturning point, defining moment, pivotal event, pivotal moment, crossroads
dire straitseasy street
State of financial security
smooth sailing · clover · lap of luxury · good fortune · prosperity
dire straitsaffluence
Abundance of money
prosperity · abundance · plenty · wealth · financial security
dire, strait, straits, direst, straitened, direly, direr, straiten, direness