pickle
n. countablen. a vegetable, like a cucumber, that has been kept in vinegar and salt to give it a sour taste. You can also use this word to describe being in a difficult situation.
n. a vegetable, typically a cucumber, preserved in brine or vinegar. In a figurative sense, refers to a difficult or troublesome situation.
I always have a crunchy pickle with my sandwich.
We found ourselves in a real pickle when the car broke down miles from the nearest town.
From Middle English pikel (“spicy sauce served with meat or fish”), borrowed from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German pekel (“brine”). Cognate with Scots pikkill (“salt liquor, brine”), Saterland Frisian Piekele (“pickle, brine”), Dutch pekel (“pickle, brine”), Low German pekel, peckel, pickel, bickel (“pickle, brine”), German Pökel (“pickle, brine”), Icelandic pækill (“brine”).
Perhaps from Scottish pickle, apparently from pick + -le (diminutive suffix). Compare Scots pickil.
Commonly used in the idiomatic phrase 'in a pickle' to describe a problem.