In Romanian, the standard version is “Am intrat în încurcătură.” or “Sunt în încurcătură”.
But a more fun way of saying it is “Am dat de dracu’.” which means “I came across the devil.” / “I bumped into the devil.” There’s also a variation that empathizes going from bad to worse – “Am scăpat de dracu’ și-am dat de tasu’.” which means “I got rid of the devil and came across his dad.”
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In Danish we sometimes say “I shit in the nettles” when we fuck something up badly and are now suffering the consequences!
“oh, kut…”
“La he liado parda” Is because a girl mixed two products (I can’t remember which) in a pool and it last in a area evacuation because of the gases. She said that on tv and this phrase is now common when someone make something wrong.
La he liado parda
Not European Spanish in this case, but in Mexican Spanish “me carga el payaso” (the clown carries me) means “I am f*cked”, which I have always found really strange.
We often say variations of a sarcastic “Wow, I did great”
Another saying would translate to “I built sh*t”
Polish “Jestem w dupie” means “I’m inside an ass”
In Dutch you could say ‘ik zit in de puree’ or ‘I am sitting in the mashed potatoes’
Like the Austrians we use “Ich hab Scheiße gebaut“, I built shit. Or “sich selbst in die Scheiße reiten“, to ride oneself into shit.
In French, I first think of « j’ai fait de la merde » (I made something shitty, in the meaning of I fucked up) or « je suis dans la merde » (I’m in a certain amount of shit, with the meaning of just being in trouble)
I am baked/roasted (pečen sem)
I have sucked (?? not sure how to translate this one) (nasrkal sem)
We say “I’m up Shit Creek” and may or may not add “without a paddle”. I would guess it originated in the US or Australia as we don’t really call streams “creeks” here. And I know it’s used in both those countries.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina it’s “obrao bostan”, meaning “harvested the watermelons”.
Nothing as funny as “up Shit creek without a paddle”.
In Finnish you can say ”nyt on piru merrassa”, meaning ’now there is a devil in the fish-trap’. This saying was probably born around the time crayfish spread to this area and people hadn’t seen them before.
We have one that could be used as that statement, but it’s more commonly used as a threat: “Jebo sam/si ježu leđa” – “I/You fucked the hedgehog’s back”. Usually implies that serious harm is incoming, not necessarily from the speaker.
«I stepped in the salad. I pooped on my (lower) leg.» for ehen you already made the mistake.
«I’m on thin ice» for when trouble might happen.
In Turkish you might say “siki tuttum” (I caught the dick) Which means things didn’t go as planned and now I am in trouble. A more polite way is “hapı yuttum” (I swallowed the pill)
We have many and majority of them are pretty vulgar – Jsem v prdeli (I am in ass), Jsem v piči (I am in a pussy), Jsem v hajzlu (I am in asshole/toilet), Jsem v háji (first non-vulgar: I am in a grove) and many others. We are very inventive when it comes to swearing.
In einen Fettnapf treten, walking into a pot of grease.
In Romanian we mostly say “am belit-o”, which literally means that we have pulled the foreskin off the head of our male organ, predictably in preparation to get fucked. There a lot others as well, because it’s a beautiful language , especially when it comes to self deprecation.
In German you could say something like
Ach du grüne Neune, alter Schwede, brat mir doch einer nen Storch jetzt haben wir den Salat.
Oh my green nine, old Swede, fry me a stork, we really have the salad now.
“Bitte helfen Sie mir, ich bin ich Gefahr”
In portuguese we say “estou feito ao bife”, something like “I’m made into a steak”. I think it’s because you pound the steak to cook it.
For going from bad to worse, in Spanish we have the traditional “salir del fuego para caer en las brasas”, or getting out of the fire to fall on the coals. Used when you think you’ve escaped a bad situation just to realize now you have a different, possibly worse, problem. (Also “ir de Guatemala a guatepeor, wordplay on mala/peor, bad/worse, and the country name. Childish but you can hear it in polite circles).
In a related meaning to the one being asked, “caerte un marrón” or “comerse un marrón” is used when something burdensome becomes your unwanted responsibility (e.g. at work), where “marrón” = brown = clean way of referring to shit. Basically, you have to eat shit, or the shit falls on you.
“Meter la pata” meaning you stepped in a hole, means to make a mistake, kind of old fashioned but in use. “vaya metedura de pata” = what a mistake (more crude, “vaya cagada”, “menuda cagada”, a pile of shit. Cagada can be replaced by liada to avoid the crudeness.) lío = mess
“Níl cúrsaí thar mholadh beirte.”
Literally: “Things aren’t worth the praise of two people” — understated, often ironic.
Things aren’t great.
“Táim i bponc”
Literally: I’m in a dot.
I’m in a tight spot.
Still very understated, but shit has hit the fan when you say this.
For “bad to worse” we have csöbörből vödörbe lépni meaning “from the pot to the frying pan”, literally “stepping from a wooden bucket into a metal bucket.”
For trouble we have
Fejemre nőtt – “It grew on my head” meaning something became a problem that you have a hard time getting rid of
Púp a hátamon – a hump on my back meaning it’s a burden
Törököt fogni – to catch a Turk, the full expression would be “Törököt fogtam” (I caught a Turk) or “Törököt fogtam, de nem ereszt.” (I caught a Turk but it won’t let me go.) – Meaning you got into trouble or something that you were looking forward to turned into a troublesome affair.
Ver a sors / Ver az Isten – Fate/God is beating me
Több a baj, mint a vaj – There’s more trouble than butter (word play on baj and vaj rhyming)
Ezer bajom, meg kettő – I have a thoudand troubles plus two
Csávába került / esett – To get / fall into a stinking bate (a corrosive liquid used to tan hides or to treat the surface of metal)
Kutyaszorítóba kerülni – to get into a dog-squeezer (a very tight alley)
Szorult helyzetben van – S/he is in a tight situation
Teli a hócipőm – my snow-shoes are full (I had enough)
Gebasz van – there is trouble – baszni means to fuck, ge- is thought to be a German prefix, it’s a playful and less offensive way to say that “the situation is fucked”
Nyakig állok a szarban – I am neck deep in shit
In Swedish we can say: “Jag har trampat i klaveret” – “I have stepped on the piano keys”.
Narobić bigosu – to make bigos. Bigos is a hunter stew with many ingredients and looks messy.
My father likes to say przejebane jak w ruskim czołgu so fucked like in a Russian tank. In WW2 the Soviet strategy to win the tank part of the war was to produce a lot more tanks than Germans but they were easier to destroy so being in one meant you’re more likely to die.
Być w gównie po uszy – to be in shit up to my ears.
I feel like there’s more.
“Jeg er ude at skide” in Danish. It means “I’m out, shitting.”
Another one is “Jeg jokkede i spinaten” which means “I stepped on the spinach,” but that’s more a general sorta mistake that could get you in trouble.
“Mam przejebane!” – Polish
Our version of something going from bad to worse would be “I jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire”.
In English, you could say “I’ve dropped a clanger.”
I quite like the English phrases “Spot of bother” or “Sticky wicket” (which stems from the sport cricket)
“Junn jahe”.
“Turd cool” (not the slang term; cool as in cold, but like.. just cool, not quite as extreme as cold, a step warmer than cold – cool).
In Greek the most common would be “την πάτησα” /tin ‘pa.ti.sa/ (I stepped on her). A less common and more crass one is “την πούτσισα” /tin ‘pu.tsi.sa/ (lit. I dickened her, doesn’t 100% translate)
In Portugal we have “Preso por ter cão e preso por não ter” rougly translates to “Arrested for having a dog and arrested for not having one” means you are screwed either way.
“sūdi vagā” which means “shit in a furrow”
“estou fodido” “estou quilhado” “estou tramado” “estou numa alhada”
Edit: portuguese
In French we say “ça sent le sapin”, which means “I can smell pine tree”, because pine trees were used to make the caskets
Swedish: “Skitit i det blå skåpet” translation: “Pooped in the blue cupboard/locker”.
The origin is from a few movies during 80s/90s with a Swedish comedian and the blue cupboard refering too the exklusive cupboard for storing china/dinnerware painted in “Berlin blue” that was popular in the 18th century.
“jestem w dupie” I’m in ass
Romanian list is way longer.
Between ” am călcat în străchini ” și ” am futut un cal în pizdă” there’s many ways to say it.
German: “Jetzt haben wir den Salat!”
(Now we have the salad!)
Jag sitter i skiten.
I’m sitting in the shit.
Sweden
Tá mé i bponc. Depends on your tone though. If you say this in a serious way, you come across as fucked altogether, but it can also be used in a messing or flirty way depending on your tone of voice
E hangra,
Meaning, i’m about to eat it (the consequences)
If you created the trouble yourself I’m quite fond of “I/he/she has shit the bed.”
We would never say “I’m in the frying pan” on its own but if something goes from bad to worse it’s “out of the frying pan and in to the fire.”
Or with typical understatement “I’m in a sticky situation.” I’m sure I read somewhere recently that that was the cause of some disastrous miscommunication during the second world war when a British officer reported to an American officer that the situation was “a bit sticky” when he and his men were actually in a horrific mess. The American thought “a bit sticky isn’t too bad” and so didn’t assist but a fellow Brit would have understood that things were likely pretty dire.
In Sweden we say “nu sket du i det blå skåpet”, basically “you just took a shit in the blue locker”. Not super common but i think most have heard it.
It’s less “I’m in trouble” and more an “Oh dear” statement, but:
“Mo chreach sa thàinig”
Quite literally, “My destruction has come”
You forgot about “m-am băgat în căcat/sunt într-un căcat” – “I’m in shit”
there’s slightly archaic one but still used in Slovak: som v kaši (I’m in porridge)
„Ich stecke knietief in der Scheisse“
I‘m knee deep in shit
In Danish you can say “Jeg er på spanden”. Directly translated “I am on the bucket”. But spanden probably refers more to the “shitter” in this case
Swedish: “Skitit i det blå skåpet.”, meaning, “Taken a shit in the blue cabinet”.
“Jeg er på spanden” or in English: “ I’m on the bucket”
In Swedish we have a saying “I shat in the blue cabinet” or you/he/she did. I have no idea where it comes from.
In Ireland
We go equally with gross understatement:
“Everything’s Grand”
“Things could be worse”
“Nothing a cup of tea could not fix”
“Are ye going to just stand there or help”
And the more direct:
“We’re Fecked”
Standing with your braids in the mail box 🇩🇰
“Stå med fletningerne i postkassen” 😂
I bin im oasch (I’m in ass?)
Finnish: “kusessa”
In (the) piss.
Not exactly for in trouble but in Irish slang we say “acting the maggot” for someone who is fooling around
Ne pas avoir le cul sorti des ronces: not to have gotten your ass out of the brambles
Ne pas être sorti de l’auberge: not to be out of the inn
Y’a une couille dans le potage: there’s a ball [testicle] in the soup (there’s an unidentified issue)
Rut ro
“Daar heb je de poppen aan het dansen”
Dutch: the puppets are dancing
It’s a situation where shit has hit the fan
In Argentina you say “ya estoy en el horno” which is, I’m in the oven now!
To be in a pinch mill (“Zwickmühle”) in German.
Viennese – I hob Zores.
Maltese:
“Issa Ghaxxaqtha”
This translates to:
“Now I have pleased her”
I think “her” is referring to the situation, but it’s like a sarcastic way to say you’ve done something to make the situation worse / bad.
In English, “up shit creek without a paddle” if you’re fucked, or “in the doghouse” if you’re in trouble with someone else (typically a partner)
In greek you can say you “dicked it”.
In Lithuanian ‘prisivirti košės’ means ‘to make porridge’. It means to get in trouble mainly by your own actions.
E dhiva or E kam dhi in Albanian which means
I shit it.
Some French expressions:
“Il y a de l’eau dans le gaz” : there’s water in gas : there’s tension between at least two persons that’s about to blow up into a big argument or big drama.
“Être entre le marteau et l’enclume ” : to be between the hammer and the anvil: to be surrounded by trouble with no visible solutions, or to have to meditate two persons in conflict.
“Il y a une couille dans le potage” there’s a testicle in the soup: something is not right.
“Ça sent le sapin/le roussi” It smells like fir tree / like burnt : it’s going to get veeeery bad. (Fir tree is used to make coffins, so it means someone or something is going to be metaphorically dead / get badly roasted.)
Northern Ireland
Ahm fucked.
Fairly straightforward lol
If it‘s really bad: „Ich stecke bis zum Hals in der Scheiße“
(Stuck in shit up to the neck)
In spanish:
“Me cago en [ANY/ANYONE/MYSELF-YOURSELF]!!” 😱😖😱
And I both the expression alone; after a few seconds of seeing the disaster and resigning himself; as well as after the previous one:
“A tomar por culo…” 😮💨
In italian “Mo so cazzi amari” Now there will be some bitter dicks.
In Ireland we say “ya it’s grand ya, no worries”.
Turkish has a lot of fun ways. Most basic is “hapı yuttuk” (“we swallowed the pill”) or vulgar “siki tuttuk” (“we grabbed the dick”). More comprehensive would be “yarraklara yan bastık” (“we stepped sideways on the dicks” yeah I have no idea how it works either). There is “göt kısmetten çıkınca yarrak Bağdat’tan gelirmiş” (“when your ass runs out of luck the dick will arrive all the way from Baghdad”) and the lament for misfortune “kız yurduna bomba düşse bize bekçinin siki düşer, o da yerden seker götümüze girer” (“if the girls’ dormitory blew up we would be hit by the doorman’s dick, and that would bounce off the ground and get into our ass”).
Voi vittu. Works for most things. In trouble, seeing trouble, registering terrible, etc.
Croatian: U banani sam (I’m in a banana) or U kurcu sam (I’m in the dick)
“Szarban vagyok” – I’m in shit
In Cypriot, I don’t know if they have it Greek, we have the phrase “Εκάτσα πάνω” (Ekatsa pano). Which basically means “I’ve sat on it”. What, precisely, it is that they’ve sat on, I leave to the determination of my readers 😂
ETA: Just remembered another one: “Η κκελλέ μου έν μες στην βούρκα” ( I kelle kou en mes’ tin vourka) which means “My head is in a sack”. A vourka is the kind of sack thattied to a stick and thrown over a shepherd’s shoulder.
English has the escalating phrase…
Up the creek….without a paddle….. up shit creek….. up shit creek without a paddle.
Med skägget i brevlådan = with my beard stuck in the mailbox
(Swedish)
Must be a fun anecdote here somewhere
“Estoy hasta el cuello” means “I’m in it up to my neck” in Spanish.
Die Kacke ist am dampfen, which means ,,the shit is steaming”
Czech: 🇨🇿 “Jsme nahraný” – We’re recorded… during the socialist era people of interest were spied on and often recorded.