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like a fish out of water

 - 2 dictionary results
fish   (fĭsh)   
n.   pl. fish or fish·es
  1. Any of numerous cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates of the superclass Pisces, characteristically having fins, gills, and a streamlined body and including specifically:

    1. Any of the class Osteichthyes, having a bony skeleton.

    2. Any of the class Chondrichthyes, having a cartilaginous skeleton and including the sharks, rays, and skates.

  2. The flesh of such animals used as food.

  3. Any of various primitive aquatic vertebrates of the class Cyclostomata, lacking jaws and including the lampreys and hagfishes.

  4. Any of various unrelated aquatic animals, such as a jellyfish, cuttlefish, or crayfish.

  5. Informal A person, especially one considered deficient in something: a poor fish.

v.   fished, fish·ing, fish·es

v.   intr.
  1. To catch or try to catch fish.

  2. To look for something by feeling one's way; grope: fished in both pockets for a coin.

  3. To seek something in a sly or indirect way: fish for compliments.

v.   tr.
    1. To catch or try to catch (fish).

    2. To catch or try to catch fish in: fish mountain streams.

  1. To catch or pull as if fishing: deftly fished the corn out of the boiling water.

Phrasal Verb(s):
fish outTo deplete (a lake, for example) of fish by fishing.

Idiom(s):
fish in troubled watersTo try to take advantage of a confused situation.

Idiom(s):
fish or cut bait Informal To proceed with an activity or abandon it altogether.

Idiom(s):
like a fish out of waterCompletely unfamiliar with one's surroundings or activity.

Idiom(s):
neither fish nor fowlHaving no specific characteristics; indefinite.

Idiom(s):
other fish to fry Informal Other matters to attend to: He declined to come along to the movie, saying he had other fish to fry.

[Middle English, from Old English fisc.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

like a fish out of water

see fish out of water.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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