Conflict/Frustration Checklist

by Gordon Timothy, 1992

When a culture has a a great deal of something, the names for it multiply. It says a lot about our culture that the following list is only a start of what it could be. If you choose two or more of this list as descriptive of your situation, you are experiencing conflict. If you have more than ten, you probably need some help.

Which of the following do you feel describe your situation?

___a can of worms
___a catch-22
___a fine how-do-you-do
___a fine kettle of fish
___a tiger by the tail
___at a loss
___at a stalemate
___at a stand still
___at an impasse
___at your wits' end
___back to the wall
___baffled
___balled up
___behind the eight ball
between
___a rock & a hard place
___devil & deep blue sea
___some, no, & anywhere
___a bull and a cliff
___between two stools
___blade side of a knife
___bottom of the pack
___bound in chains
___burdened
___caught with pants down
___cheated
___coming and going
___cornered
___dance on a hot griddle
___down the river
___drowning
___dumped on
___end of the shotgun
___end of your rope
___enmeshed
___entangled
___finger up your nose
___from pillar to post
___in a bind
___in a box
___in a dilemma
___in a fix
___in a hole
___in a hornet's nest
___in a jam
___in a mess
___in a peck of trouble
___in a pickle
___in a pinch
___in a predicament
___in a quagmire
___in a quandary
___in a scrape
___in a sea of troubles
___in a sorry plight
___in a spot
___in a tight spot
___in a tight squeeze
___in deep doo doo
___in deep water
___in harm's way
___in heavy weather
___in hot water
___in over your head
___in quicksand
___in the middle
___in the soup
___in tough straits
___leg in the hole
___lost and gone forever
___lost in space
___nonplussed
___on a dead end
___on a downward slide
___on the ropes
___on the skids
___on the spot
___on the wrong side
___one extreme to other
___opened Pandora's box
___oppressed
___out of luck
___out of the frying pan into the fire
___out of your depth
___out of your element
___out on a limb
___over a barrel
___over your head
___paint into a corner
___perplexed
___piled on
___put to it
___smothered
___snookered
___stranded
___stuck
___stumped
___taken advantage of
___tangled up
___tit in the wringer
___trapped
___treed
___under a deadline
___under an elephant foot
___under the gun
___under the gun
___up a blind alley
___up a creek w/o a paddle
___up a stump
___up a tree
___up against it
___up the creek
___up to your neck in it
___vexed
___used
___walking a tight rope
___walking on egg shells
___walking on hot coals
___worm in the hard drive
___worried
___wound up
___viral attack