As a language expert with a deep understanding of idioms and their origins, I can explain the phrase "the fat is in the fire."

The phrase "the fat is in the fire" is an idiomatic expression that means a situation has become difficult or problematic, often due to one's own actions. It suggests that a mistake has been made or a problem has been created that will be challenging to resolve.

The origin of this phrase is not entirely clear, but it's believed to come from the practice of rendering fat from animals in the past. When fat was placed in a fire, it would cause a lot of smoke and a smell that could be unpleasant or even dangerous. Thus, if the "fat was in the fire," it meant that something had gone wrong, much like when a situation becomes problematic.

Now, let's translate this into Chinese:

作为语言领域的专家，我能够解释“the fat is in the fire”这个成语。

“the fat is in the fire”是一个成语，意思是情况变得困难或有问题，通常是由于个人的行为造成的。它表明已经犯了一个错误或造成了一个难题，这将很难解决。

这个短语的起源并不完全清楚，但人们认为它来自于过去从动物身上提炼脂肪的做法。当脂肪被放入火中时，它会产生很多烟雾和可能不愉快甚至危险的气味。因此，如果“the fat was in the fire”（脂肪在火中），这意味着出了问题，就像当情况变得棘手时一样。

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For example, Now the fat's in the fire��the boss arrived early and will see we haven't even started work. This expression, with its allusion to fat dropping into a fire and causing a burst of flames, was already a proverb in John Heywood's 1546 collection. The American Heritage? Idioms Dictionary.read more >>