kettle of fish

noun phrase

Synonyms of kettle of fishnext
1
: a bad state of affairs : mess
2
: something to be considered or dealt with : matter
a different kettle of fish

Examples of kettle of fish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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But Keane is a different kettle of fish entirely. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025 Speaking of painstaking efforts, the doorways were another kettle of fish. — Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar, Architectural Digest, 27 Sep. 2024 Theoretically, yes, but doing so in the real world is a wholly different kettle of fish. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025 But retaining the Vince Lombardi Trophy is a different kettle of fish. — Ben Morse, CNN, 10 Feb. 2024 Understanding and connecting the intricate dots that make up a data ecosystem is an entirely different kettle of fish. — Imran Aftab, Forbes.com, 16 Mar. 2026 The Urus, even in top-tier Performante trim, doesn’t better the Cayenne Turbo S in terms of driving enjoyment (or looks, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish). — Kyle Hyatt, Robb Report, 17 June 2024 As such, piloting an FPV drone is a completely different, entirely more challenging kettle of fish than piloting a standard camera drone. — Sam Kieldsen, Wired News, 27 June 2025 Regis Le Bris’ young squad was underestimated a year ago too, but Premier League survival is a different kettle of fish (more like a tankful of piranhas) to challenging for Championship promotion. — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 22 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1742, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of kettle of fish was in 1742

Rhymes for kettle of fish

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Browse Nearby Words

kettleman
kettle of fish
kettler
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Cite this Entry

“Kettle of fish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kettle%20of%20fish. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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