stew

A situation comprised of both crude or unpleasant things as well as those which are pleasing or beneficial, usually with the former in greater proportion to the latter. Used especially in reference to economics or business. The prime minister's plan for the economic recovery is little more than horse and rabbit stew, with a few token stimulus incentives greatly outweighed by draconian austerity measures.

To be worried and flummoxed about something. Mom is in a stew because she just found out that we're hosting all of our relatives for Christmas—which is three days away.

Fig. to be worried or upset about someone or something. Please don't get yourself into a stew over Walter. Liz is the kind of person who gets into a stew over little problems.

Fig. upset or bothered about someone or something. (*Typically: be ~; get [into] ~.) I'm in such a stew about my dog. She ran away last night. Now, now. Don't get in a stew. She'll be back when she gets hungry.

Fig. to be left alone to suffer one's anger or disappointment. John has such a terrible temper. When he got mad at us, we just let him go away and stew in his own juice. After John stewed in his own juice for a while, he decided to come back and apologize to us.

Prov. Cliché Too many people trying to manage something simply spoil it. Let's decide who is in charge around here. Too many cooks spoil the stew. Everyone is giving orders, but no one is following them! Too many cooks spoil the broth.

to be worried and confused about something She was in a stew over the party arrangements.

if you leave someone to stew, you leave them to worry about something bad that has happened or something stupid they have done I could have said a few comforting words and made him feel better but I thought I'd let him stew a while instead.

if you leave someone to stew in their own juice, you leave them to worry about something bad that has happened or something stupid they have done She'll calm down - just leave her to stew in her own juices for a bit.

Agitated, alarmed, or anxious. For example, Mary was in a stew about how her cake was going to turn out. It is also put as get in or into a stew , as in Every Saturday the minister got in a stew about Sunday's sermon. This expression transfers the mixture of meat and vegetables constituting a stew to overheated mixed emotions. [c. 1800]

Suffer the consequences of one's actions, as in He's run into debt again, but this time we're leaving him to stew in his own juice. This metaphoric term alludes to cooking something in its own liquid. Versions of it, such as fry in one's own grease, date from Chaucer's time, but the present term dates from the second half of the 1800s.

An apartment house in which many female flight attendants lived. Back in prepolitically correct days, female flight attendants were called “stewardesses” and had the reputation for being attractive and, even better to the male mind, “fun” (Frank Sinatra's hit ballad “Come Fly with Me” became something of an anthem). Stewardesses (or a many self-styled hip males called them “stewardii”) shared apartments, a rentsaving arrangement that appealed to their lifestyle because one or more was usually traveling. Apartment buildings in large cities, especially ones with easy access to airports, that attracted the young women were known as “stew zoos.”