This thread was meant to entertain - - -
A couple more phrases - - -
"He's in a jam" - or "She's in a real pickle"
My 'jam' visual goes to - wonder what flavor? how'd he get in the jar? how sticky will he be when he gets out?
The pickle one starts out with - hmm - wonder if that's a cucumber dill pickle? How in the world would someone get INSIDE a pickle? Or is the person pickled?
Sometimes being literal minded can be entertaining - to myself, anyway.
By the way - I do know that the usual explanation/meaning - is that someone is in some sort of trouble or unpleasant predicament.