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According to Tony Robinson on Time Team, this phrase was coined by sailors of the Royal Navy sometime after 1750.
The Royal Navy built the Royal Hospital Haslar between 1746 and 1761 on the southern peninsular of Portsmouth harbour on the southern coast of England. To reach the Hospital, ships would moor in Portsmouth Harbour allowing the sick and injured sailors to be rowed up Haslar creek to the entrance of the Hospital.
Given the state of the medical profession in the 1700's only the seriously injured/ill and those with psychiatric disorders would have been admitted. The patients were guarded so they wouldn't desert and sometimes attempted to escape through the sewers to get back to the creek, but with no paddle.
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What does the idiom 'up a creek without a paddle' mean?
Up a creek without a paddle means you are in deep trouble and there is nothing you can do about it. Your situation is quite hopeless, in other words. The image in this idiom is of a boat adrift in a river, with no paddles (oars) to steer with. It doesn't mean things are hopeless. It's just going to take more effort/time to get back home. If you ever find yourself up the creek be thankful you're not in a pickle
Up the creek with out a paddle?
no matter how hard you try, you're going to lose
What is the meaning of this Sailing up a creek to absolute chaos without a paddle?
Sailing up a creek, whether it be towards absolute chaos or not, without a paddle is the equivalent of flossing your teeth with out a toothbrush. When one is sailing they have no need of paddles. A Google search found only one reference where this odd expression is used on a website called WeblogBahama and is a reprint of an article from the Tribune. The Tribune gave the byline, A Young Mans view, which makes some sense given the mixing of metaphor's in that remark. "Up a creek without a paddle" is the standard expression, but the passion of this young mans view of the judicial system in the Bahama's is not only amusing but stirring in it's own way. It is prudent to have paddles on a sail boat as the winds can't always be counted on and perhaps this was the intention of this young man in his variation on an age old expression.
How do you use creek in a sentence?
While rowing up the creek all Jack could hear was the creak of the ores.
What is a antonym for creek?
river, sea, ocean, bay, gulf look it up on google
What is the origin of the idiom up the creek without a paddle?
It is a boating term - if you have no paddle, you cannot row very far, can you? So you're stuck.
What does the idiom you are up the creek now mean?
The saying up a creek is shortened from up the creek without a paddle, meaning you are in a difficult situation without the necessary tools to get out of it.
What is the meaning of up the river without the paddle?
It's "up the creek without a paddle," and it means you are in serious trouble without any noticeable way of getting out of it.
Where were the pilgrims origanlly headed and how did they end up at Plymouth Rocks?
Up a creek without a paddle
What are the two main rivers in Iraq?
The two main rivers in Iraq are the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. These rivers have been crucial to the development of civilization in the region, providing water for agriculture and facilitating trade and transportation.
What is the song at the closing credits of 'up the creek without a paddle?
Spiderbait - Black Betty
What does the figure speech im up a creek?
The complete saying was "I'm up a creek, without a paddle!" The implication is that you are in a canoe, in a stream or creek in which the water is flowing swiftly. Uncontrolled creeks and rivers often have rocks and rapids, and the only way to survive is to navigate your way around the rocks and down the center of the main channel of the creek. But in order to control your canoe, you need a paddle. So, to be "up a creek, without a paddle", is to be adrift and at the mercy of fate, without being able to control events.
What does the expressions If you do not get the job soon you will be a creek mean?
*LOL* It's UP THE CREEK. This is a more polite way of saying the idiom "up sh*t creek without a paddle," which means you're really in a bad situation with no way of getting out of it.
What does the idiom 'up a creek without a paddle' mean?
Up a creek without a paddle means you are in deep trouble and there is nothing you can do about it. Your situation is quite hopeless, in other words. The image in this idiom is of a boat adrift in a river, with no paddles (oars) to steer with. It doesn't mean things are hopeless. It's just going to take more effort/time to get back home. If you ever find yourself up the creek be thankful you're not in a pickle
Up the creek with out a paddle?
no matter how hard you try, you're going to lose
What is 194 miles from Portland Oregon and 84 miles from Eugene Oregon?
between looking glass, oregon and roseburg, or Up a creek without a paddle lol
Where should a delinquent Kansas tax return be sent?
It depends on your situation, but file them just as you would a regular tax file. Otherwise the IRS will file on behalf of you, and you will be up the creek without a paddle in terms of deductions.
