In a Jam

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I'm in a real jam . I can't find anyone to work for me tomorrow and I need the whole day to finish up a paper for my English literature class. Where were you yesterday? I was in a jam and needed someone to take my dog out and you didn't answer your phone. Charred - I don’t really get what jelly jam has to do with this word’s etymology. What does it mean if you say that you’re in a bit of a “fruit jam”? That really doesn’t make sense. As far as my husband sees things, this would be a negative situation. I see it as trying to make to most use of a small space! Because of this, she has been in a lot tight spots that she has had to work her way out of. I keep thinking she will learn her lesson after a while, but there is always a lot of drama going on in her life.

David09 - I have made jam a few different times, and also have a hard time seeing how this relates to this expression. fify-- Yea, it's the same thing. The only difference might be that when we say "in a bind," it's not something that is physically bound. It's about a situation or a emotional state. Everyone is always in such a hurry, that something like a traffic jam can really make a lot of people upset and angry. I have never known anyone who thinks of being "in a jam" like a traffic jam as a positive thing.When I think of being "in a jam" the first thing that comes to my mind is a traffic jam. I live on the east coast, and you never know what the traffic is going to be like getting anywhere. If you really want to be in a jam, in the literal sense, just spend four years in Asia like I did. You will not believe how closely compacted the cars are there!

One of the biggest frustrations is that when it happens, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Getting mad and upset doesn't change anything or make the time go by any faster. I try to avoid situations like this because I don't like getting myself in a fix and like things to be calm and easy going.I think that is one reason this doesn't bother her. She is afraid she would be too bored if there wasn't something going on to put her in a tight spot.

In what other meanings do you folks use "jam" and "to be in a jam?" I'm sure there must be lots of other uses we don't know about. But this is just for the word itself. The phrase "being in a jam" to me, means being in trouble, or a bad situation whatever that is. If I'm in a situation that I don't like or don't want to be in, I say "I'm in a jam."My idea of someone "being in a jam", or in a tight spot has to do with relationships. One of my sisters is very blunt and never stops to think before she says anything. Of course, I don’t know much about how to make jam. Maybe the process of making jam involves compacting things together in a way that they are bound and nearly inseparable, I don’t know. All other uses of the phrase in the article seem to make more sense. For my sister, I think she functions better when she finds herself in a jam for some reason. One thing is for sure - her life is never boring.