Idiom: "A perfect storm"

countable noun [usually singular] A perfect storm is an unusual combination of events or things that produce an unusually bad or powerful result. Investors are faced with the perfect storm of slowing economic growth, rising prices and an unstable housing market. perfect storm in British noun a combination of events which are not individually dangerous, but occurring together produce a disastrous outcome. an extremely bad situation in which many bad things happen at the same time. a very unpleasant situation in which several bad things happen at once. Thesaurus In a difficult situation Dangerous or exciting situations In a dangerous situation To be in, or to get into a difficult situation Words used to describe difficult situations Confused or confusing situations crisis (noun) an urgent, difficult, or dangerous situation battle (noun) a situation in which someone is trying very hard to deal with a difficult situation nightmare (noun) an extremely difficult or frightening situation ordeal (noun) an extremely unpleasant experience, especially one that lasts for a long time trouble (noun) an unpleasant, difficult, or dangerous situation hell (noun) a situation that is extremely unpleasant tragedy (noun) a bad situation that makes people very upset or angry quagmire (noun) a situation that is so difficult or complicated that you cannot make much progress worst-case scenario a situation that is the worst one that you can imagine stress (noun) a situation that makes you feel stress a bad/poor lookout (for) a bad or unpleasant situation that is likely to happen to someone or something a baptism of fire a very difficult first period in a new job, activity, or situation a bitter pill (to swallow) an unpleasant fact or situation that is difficult to accept a can of worms a situation that involves a complicated set of problems that you discover when you start dealing with it a fate worse than death something very bad that could happen to you a nasty business a situation that is unpleasant or upsetting, especially one that is unfair or involves violence a thin time a difficult time, especially because there is not much money available a tight corner/spot/situation a difficult situation bad hair day (noun) informal a difficult day when nothing seems to go well for you balls-up (noun) british impolite a mistake, or a difficult situation caused by mistakes that someone has made bitter pill (noun) an unpleasant fact or situation that is difficult to accept black hole (noun) informal a situation in which there is a lot of sadness and very little hope carnage (noun) mainly journalism a situation that is difficult or full of problems catch-22 situation (noun) a set of problems that is impossible to escape from because each problem must be solved first before you can solve any of the others corner (noun) a difficult situation that you cannot easily escape from crunch (noun) mainly americaninformal a situation that is very difficult because you do not have enough of something, especially time or money cul-de-sac (noun) a situation in which you can make no more progress or from which you cannot escape curse (noun) an unpleasant situation or influence that continues for a long time dead end (noun) a situation in which no further progress is possible deadlock (noun) a situation in which neither person or group involved in a disagreement is willing to change their opinions or position the depths of something the most severe part of an unpleasant time, feeling, or situation dilemma (noun) a situation in which you have to make a difficult decision discomfort (noun) something that makes you feel slightly ill or uncomfortable distress (noun) an unpleasant and difficult situation caused by a lack of money, food, or other basic things the doldrums (noun) a situation in which there is a lack of success, activity, or improvement double bind (noun) a difficult situation in which you have two choices, but each one will have a bad result double whammy (noun) mainly journalism a set of two bad events or situations that have an effect at the same time easy/rough (ride) a period of time when you experience no problems/a lot of problems entanglement (noun) a complicated situation or relationship fate (noun) the things that happen to someone, especially unpleasant things feast or famine a situation in which there is either far too much of something or not nearly enough of it fix (noun) informal a difficult situation or a big problem gridlock (noun) a situation in which it is impossible to make progress hardship (noun) a situation in which life is very difficult, usually because you do not have enough money hell on earth an extremely unpleasant situation or place horror (noun) the horror of an experience is how unpleasant it is horror story (noun) informal an unpleasant experience the hot seat (noun) informal a difficult position in which you are responsible for decisions and problems that may make many people angry imbroglio (noun) formal a difficult, complicated, or embarrassing situation impasse (noun) a situation in which progress is not possible because none of the people involved are willing to change their opinion or decision imposition (noun) an unfair or unreasonable situation that you are expected to accept information overload (noun) a situation in which you get more information than you can deal with at one time and become tired and confused jam (noun) a difficult situation jungle (noun) a place or situation that is unpleasant because people are trying to achieve things for themselves and are not helping each other (just) the tip of the iceberg a problem or difficult situation that shows that a much more serious problem exists knock (noun) something bad or unpleasant that happens to someone logjam (noun) a situation in which one problem is stopping anything else from being done low (noun) a bad time in your life mess (noun) a difficult situation with a lot of problems, especially because people have made mistakes mire (noun) an unpleasant situation that you cannot easily escape from misadventure (noun) formal something bad that happens to you misfortune (noun) something harmful or unpleasant that happens to someone night (noun) literary a period of great sadness, failure etc not a barrel of laughs a very unpleasant experience or situation no-win situation (noun) a situation in which there is no chance of success one of those days a day when you seem to have a lot of problems overcrowding noun unpleasant conditions caused by too many people or things being in the same place palaver noun informal a situation that causes you a lot of unnecessary trouble or work perfect storm (noun) a very unpleasant situation in which several bad things happen at once pit (noun) mainly literary a state in which you have very strong unpleasant feelings or in which something bad is happening plight (noun) a sad, serious, or difficult situation poetic justice (noun) bad things that happen to someone and are deserved because of their bad behaviour pressure cooker (noun) informal a difficult situation in which people have to work very hard or experience a lot of strong emotions purgatory (noun) an unpleasant place or experience rat race (noun) an activity, job, or situation in which there is a lot of competition and people are too busy to relax or enjoy themselves the rub (noun) literary a problem, or a difficult situation the school of hard knocks (noun) the difficult experiences that happen in someone’s life and that influence the type of person they become scrape (noun) informal a difficult situation that someone causes by being careless shitstorm (noun) impolite a situation in which people are very angry or there are a lot of problems slippery slope (noun) a problem or situation that is getting worse and will become extremely bad unless it is stopped spiral (noun) a situation that gets worse and worse spot (noun) (informal) a difficult situation stalemate (noun) a situation in which progress is impossible because the people or groups involved cannot agree suffering (noun) mental or physical pain or problems tangle (noun) a situation that is difficult to deal with because things are not organized properly tension (noun) a situation in which opposing aims, ideas, or influences cause problems test (noun) a difficult situation that shows what qualities someone or something has toils (noun) literary a difficult or unpleasant situation that you cannot get away from torment (noun) severe physical or mental pain that someone suffers, often caused deliberately by someone else trap (noun) a bad or unpleasant situation that is difficult to change or escape from travail (noun) literary a very difficult situation, or a situation in which you must work very hard treadmill (noun) a situation that is very tiring or boring because you do the same things continuously trial (noun) a painful or difficult experience trouble (noun) a situation for which you are likely to be blamed, criticized, or punished tsunami (noun) a disastrous situation that cannot be controlled victimhood (noun) the situation of someone who is a victim, or who thinks that they have been unfairly treated whammy (noun) something very difficult or unpleasant that unexpectedly happens to someone. A double whammy is two bad things happening close together. whirlpool (noun) a situation in which you lose control of what is happening, usually in an unpleasant way the worst of all/both worlds used for saying that a person or situation has all the disadvantages that are possible Resources: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/