# butt in a bight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 22, 1999, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butt-in-a-bight/1248 "1999-10-22T21:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butt-in-a-bight/1248/1 "1999-10-22T21:33:00Z")
Ed – This word bight (from [m-w.com](http://m-w.com))? Main Entry: bight Pronunciation: 'bIt Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English byht bend, bay; akin to Old English bugan to bend – more at BOW Date: 15th century 1 : a bend in a coast forming an open bay; also : a bay formed by such a bend 2 : a slack part or loop in a rope Exactly what is bad about one’s butt being in one, except for 1) it might get wet, or 2) um, some sort of rope burn? [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/my2kfix.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/my2kfix.html) ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 1999, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butt-in-a-bight/1248/2 "1999-10-22T23:16:00Z")
If you use definition 2, having your butt in a bight sounds alot like having your ass in a sling. Maybe these two expressions are related? * * * “I had a feeling that in Hell there would be mushrooms.” -The Secret of Monkey Island