Pickle

[pik-uh l] /ˈpɪk əl/

noun
1.
a cucumber that has been preserved in brine, vinegar, or the like.
2.
Often, pickles. any other vegetable, as cauliflower, celery, etc., preserved in vinegar and eaten as a relish.
3.
something preserved in a brine or marinade.
4.
a liquid usually prepared with salt or vinegar for preserving or flavoring fish, meat, vegetables, etc.; brine or marinade.
5.
Metallurgy. an acid or other chemical solution in which metal objects are dipped to remove oxide scale or other adhering substances.
6.
Informal. a troublesome or awkward situation; predicament:
I was in a pickle after the check bounced.
7.
Informal. a sour, disagreeable person.
verb (used with object), pickled, pickling.
8.
to preserve or steep in brine or other liquid.
9.
to treat with a chemical solution, as for the purpose of cleaning.
10.
to give a pale, streaked finish to (wood) by applying and partly removing paint or by bleaching, as to give an appearance of age.
11.
Slang. to store; prepare for long-range storage:
Let’s pickle these old cars for a few years.
[pik-uh l] /ˈpɪk əl/
noun, Scot. and North England.
1.
a single grain or kernel, as of barley or corn.
2.
a small amount; a little.
/ˈpɪkəl/
noun
1.
(often pl) vegetables, such as cauliflowers, onions, etc, preserved in vinegar, brine, etc
2.
any food preserved in this way
3.
a liquid or marinade, such as spiced vinegar, for preserving vegetables, meat, fish, etc
4.
(mainly US & Canadian) a cucumber that has been preserved and flavoured in a pickling solution, such as brine or vinegar
5.
(informal) an awkward or difficult situation: to be in a pickle
6.
(Brit, informal) a mischievous child
verb (transitive)
7.
to preserve in a pickling liquid
8.
to immerse (a metallic object) in a liquid, such as an acid, to remove surface scale
n.

c.1400, probably from Middle Dutch pekel “pickle, brine,” or related words in Low German and East Frisian (cf. Dutch pekel, East Frisian päkel, German pökel), of uncertain origin or original meaning. Klein suggests the name of a medieval Dutch fisherman who developed the process. Originally a sauce served with meat or fowl; meaning “cucumber preserved in pickle” first recorded 1707, via use of the word for the salty liquid in which meat, etc. was preserved (c.1500). Figurative sense of “sorry plight” first recorded 1560s, from the time when the word still meant a sauce served on meat about to be eaten. Meaning “troublesome boy” is from 1788, perhaps from the notion of being “imbued” with roguery.
v.

1550s, from pickle (n.). Related: Pickled; pickling.

noun

verb phrase

To hit the ball very hard (1908+ Baseball)

verb

To ruin; wreck: This will promptly pickle her college chances (1950s+)

[first noun sense fr 1500s British slang in a pickle and may refer to the situation of a mouse fallen into a pickling vat; picklement is a handy echo of predicament]
see: in a fix (pickle)