out of the frying pan into the fire

Register · Neutral Neutral — appropriate in most situations, both spoken and written, without sounding too casual or too stiff. CEFR C1

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Figurative meaning

To escape one bad situation only to land in a worse one.

Why this phrase?

Jumping from hot oil straight into open flames.

Example

“She left the noisy flat for one with worse neighbours, out of the frying pan into the fire.”

Dictionary details

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

let sleeping dogs lie Neutral · CEFR B2

To avoid raising an old issue that could cause trouble.

better late than never Neutral · CEFR A2

Doing something after a delay is better than not doing it at all.

actions speak louder than words Neutral · CEFR B1

What you do matters more than what you say.

don't judge a book by its cover Neutral · CEFR B1

appearances can be misleading, so assess things properly

easier said than done Neutral · CEFR B1

Something that sounds simple to do but is actually hard.

every cloud has a silver lining Neutral · CEFR B1

Every difficult situation has some hopeful or positive aspect.

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

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