kettle of fish

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

When a person has been perplexed in his affairs in general, or in any particular business, he is said to have made a pretty kettle of fish of it.--Grose, Slang Dict. The same phrase is used in America in colloquial language.


What a pretty kettle of fish we shall have to fry some of these days a looking after Uncle Sam's fortune.--Crockett.

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