| No. | Item | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | a can of worms | a complicated, messy problem |
| 2. | a thorn in your side | a persistent source of trouble |
| 3. | add fuel to the fire | make a bad situation worse |
| 4. | against the clock | under severe time pressure |
| 5. | all hell breaks loose | chaos and trouble erupt |
| 6. | an uphill battle | a very difficult struggle |
| 7. | at a dead end | no way forward |
| 8. | at your wits’ end | out of ideas and patience |
| 9. | back to square one | returned to the start |
| 10. | bark up the wrong tree | pursue the wrong cause |
| 11. | between a rock and a hard place | facing two bad choices |
| 12. | bite off more than you can chew | take on too much |
| 13. | blow up in your face | backfire badly |
| 14. | boil over | suddenly become uncontrollable |
| 15. | break down | stop working or collapse |
| 16. | caught in the crossfire | hurt by others’ conflict |
| 17. | chasing your tail | busy but achieving nothing |
| 18. | clutching at straws | trying hopeless solutions |
| 19. | come apart at the seams | fall into disorder |
| 20. | come to grief | end in failure or trouble |
| 21. | crack under pressure | fail when stressed |
| 22. | dark cloud | a looming problem |
| 23. | dead in the water | unable to proceed |
| 24. | dig yourself into a hole | make your situation worse |
| 25. | drag your feet | delay on purpose |
| 26. | drop the ball | make a careless mistake |
| 27. | drown in paperwork | overwhelmed by administrative tasks |
| 28. | elephant in the room | an obvious ignored problem |
| 29. | end of your rope | no patience left |
| 30. | fall apart | stop functioning; collapse |
| 31. | fall between the cracks | be overlooked or neglected |
| 32. | fall flat | fail to have effect |
| 33. | fall on deaf ears | be ignored completely |
| 34. | find yourself in hot water | get into trouble |
| 35. | fly in the ointment | a small but serious flaw |
| 36. | from bad to worse | deteriorating rapidly |
| 37. | get into a pickle | get into a difficult situation |
| 38. | get off on the wrong foot | start badly |
| 39. | get the short end of the stick | receive unfair treatment |
| 40. | get your wires crossed | misunderstand each other |
| 41. | go down in flames | fail spectacularly |
| 42. | go haywire | stop working properly |
| 43. | go off the rails | become uncontrolled or wrong |
| 44. | go pear-shaped | go wrong unexpectedly |
| 45. | hang by a thread | be in a very risky state |
| 46. | hard nut to crack | a difficult problem or person |
| 47. | have a lot on your plate | have too many tasks |
| 48. | have your hands full | be very busy with problems |
| 49. | hit a brick wall | make no further progress |
| 50. | hit the fan | suddenly become chaotic |
| 51. | in a bind | in a difficult situation |
| 52. | in deep water | in serious trouble |
| 53. | in hot water | in trouble with others |
| 54. | in over your head | beyond your ability |
| 55. | in the same boat | sharing the same difficulty |
| 56. | it never rains but it pours | problems come all at once |
| 57. | jump through hoops | face many requirements |
| 58. | keep your head above water | manage despite difficulties |
| 59. | kick the can down the road | delay dealing with a problem |
| 60. | knee-deep in trouble | deeply involved in problems |
| 61. | knock-on effect | a chain reaction of problems |
| 62. | last straw | final problem causing collapse |
| 63. | let sleeping dogs lie | avoid restarting old trouble |
| 64. | like herding cats | very hard to organize |
| 65. | like pulling teeth | extremely difficult to get done |
| 66. | lose your shirt | lose a lot of money |
| 67. | make ends meet | manage financially with difficulty |
| 68. | make matters worse | worsen the situation |
| 69. | make the best of it | cope as well as possible |
| 70. | mess things up | cause problems by mistakes |
| 71. | more than you bargained for | harder than expected |
| 72. | muddied waters | a situation made confusing |
| 73. | needle in a haystack | almost impossible to find |
| 74. | nip it in the bud | stop a problem early |
| 75. | no room to maneuver | few options available |
| 76. | not out of the woods | still in danger |
| 77. | off the rails | out of control |
| 78. | on thin ice | in a risky situation |
| 79. | open a can of worms | create more problems by asking |
| 80. | paint yourself into a corner | limit your own options |
| 81. | paper over the cracks | hide problems temporarily |
| 82. | pay the piper | face consequences later |
| 83. | pick up the pieces | recover after a setback |
| 84. | play with fire | risk serious trouble |
| 85. | put out fires | handle urgent problems |
| 86. | put the cart before the horse | do things in wrong order |
| 87. | quick fix | temporary solution to a problem |
| 88. | raise a red flag | signal a potential problem |
| 89. | rob Peter to pay Paul | solve one problem by creating another |
| 90. | rock the boat | cause trouble by change |
| 91. | run aground | get stuck; fail to progress |
| 92. | run into trouble | encounter problems |
| 93. | sail close to the wind | take risky actions |
| 94. | scratch the surface | deal with only a small part |
| 95. | under the gun | under intense pressure |
| 96. | up against it | facing serious difficulty |
| 97. | up the creek without a paddle | in serious trouble without help |
| 98. | walk on eggshells | act carefully to avoid trouble |
| 99. | when it rains, it pours | problems come all at once |
| 100. | wild-goose chase | a pointless search |