"ox is in the ditch" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "An allusion to the urgency and difficulty of extracting an ox from a ditch in which it has become mired.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the ox is in the ditch",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase",
        "head": "the ox is in the ditch"
      },
      "expansion": "the ox is in the ditch",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English sentences",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1904, Clifton Johnson, Highways and Byways of the South, Macmillan, page 169",
          "text": "\"The ox is in the ditch,\" said she, referring to the New Testament excuse for Sabbath work where the need is great, \"and Billy must mend this gate if it is Sunday.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1987 March 6, George Reedy, “Can the President Still Lead?”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-11-07",
          "text": "In talking to his staff, Lyndon B. Johnson always announced the onset of catastrophe with the statement: \"The ox is in the ditch!\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001 May 15, “Senators seek Postal Service overhaul”, in USA Today, retrieved 2008-11-07",
          "text": "\"It's obvious that the ox is in the ditch big time,\" said Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. The Postal Service is projecting up to $5 billion in losses over the next two years.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Fred Harris, Following the Harvest: A Novel, page 71",
          "text": "\"You oughtn't to work on the Lord's Day, son,\" she told Dad both times. Dad's response was always the same. \"The ox is in the ditch, Ma.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead."
      ],
      "id": "en-ox_is_in_the_ditch-en-phrase-w2IkBjlw",
      "links": [
        [
          "big",
          "big"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ],
        [
          "unavoidable",
          "unavoidable"
        ],
        [
          "demanding",
          "demanding"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly southern US) This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Southern",
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-ox is in the ditch.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7a/En-au-ox_is_in_the_ditch.ogg/En-au-ox_is_in_the_ditch.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/En-au-ox_is_in_the_ditch.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "ox is in the ditch"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "An allusion to the urgency and difficulty of extracting an ox from a ditch in which it has become mired.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the ox is in the ditch",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase",
        "head": "the ox is in the ditch"
      },
      "expansion": "the ox is in the ditch",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English phrases",
        "English sentences",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1904, Clifton Johnson, Highways and Byways of the South, Macmillan, page 169",
          "text": "\"The ox is in the ditch,\" said she, referring to the New Testament excuse for Sabbath work where the need is great, \"and Billy must mend this gate if it is Sunday.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1987 March 6, George Reedy, “Can the President Still Lead?”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-11-07",
          "text": "In talking to his staff, Lyndon B. Johnson always announced the onset of catastrophe with the statement: \"The ox is in the ditch!\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001 May 15, “Senators seek Postal Service overhaul”, in USA Today, retrieved 2008-11-07",
          "text": "\"It's obvious that the ox is in the ditch big time,\" said Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. The Postal Service is projecting up to $5 billion in losses over the next two years.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Fred Harris, Following the Harvest: A Novel, page 71",
          "text": "\"You oughtn't to work on the Lord's Day, son,\" she told Dad both times. Dad's response was always the same. \"The ox is in the ditch, Ma.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "big",
          "big"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ],
        [
          "unavoidable",
          "unavoidable"
        ],
        [
          "demanding",
          "demanding"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly southern US) This is a big problem; there is unavoidable or demanding work ahead."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Southern",
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-ox is in the ditch.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7a/En-au-ox_is_in_the_ditch.ogg/En-au-ox_is_in_the_ditch.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/En-au-ox_is_in_the_ditch.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "ox is in the ditch"
}