Clichs, used in the English language, are incredibly descriptive ways to convey a meaning without fully explaining yourself. A fish out of water is used to describe something/someone who is very out of place or unsuited to the situation.

        The cliché is usually said when someone is in a situation they are not used to or well suited for. An example of this would be if a rich woman were invited to her servant’s party. The rich woman, not knowing that the party was an informal barbeque, would go to the party in an evening gown. At the party, everyone else would be wearing tee shirts, shorts, and occasionally someone would be wearing a cotton sundress. When the woman arrived wearing a silk ball gown, she would be “a fish out of water” because of how much she stood out from the majority of the people there. The phrase, used correctly, would point out how awkward the woman looked and felt at the party.

        The proverb doesn’t always have to be used to describe when someone looks out of place. It can also be used to describe how someone is feeling. Suppose there was a man from the city who has no experience with nature and decides to go on a camping trip with his girlfriend and some friends. They have a lot of fun hiking and hanging out and he thought that the rest of the weekend would be just as much fun. When they made it back to the campsite, everyone goes their separate ways and he was stuck with setting up his and his girlfriend’s tent. The rest of his friends set up their tents in less than ten minutes while his tent will still be laying flat on the ground. At that moment, you could have said that the man felt like “a fish out of water”.

        There are many other ways to express the phrase “like a fish out of water”. These ways include being a misfit or out of place. Each of these words could easily be substituted in place of “fish out of water”.  Instead of saying the rich woman, from the second paragraph, looked like a “fish out of water” at the party, you could say that she looked out of place. Also, in the paragraph above about the man who couldn’t set up his tent like his friends, could say he felt like a misfit instead of “a fish out of water”. This classic cliché that has been around for centuries, is perfect for describing many awkward situations. “Like a fish out of water” has become a classic phrase in the English language that will hopefully be used for many more centuries to come.