Paint Oneself Into a Corner

Welcome to English in a Minute!

Here is a colorful expression about a sticky situation.

Paint Oneself Into a Corner

Did you see Cara? Why is she so upset?

She got a speeding ticket and has no money to pay for it!

But we all got paid yesterday. how does she have no money?

She told me she spent all her money on clothes and candy!

Well, she really painted herself into a corner there!

To paint yourself into a corner means to put yourself in a situation that is hard to escape.

In our example, Anna and Jonathan’s friend Cara painted herself into a corner by not saving enough money to pay for an unexpected cost.

And that’s English in a Minute.