Up the creek without a paddle?

Question

I'm pondering the expression, "Up the creek without a paddle". It's supposed to be expressing an awkward situation with no easy way out. But as a very literal person who has paddled on a creek, when you're upstream you can just sit and let the current take you back to where you were. However, if you are downstream without a paddle, then you're in serious trouble, because if you can't paddle back up the creek, it's going to keep taking you further downstream.

So why in the English language to we say "up the creek" instead of "down the creek"? Does it have something to do with where the expression originates? When people said up the creek what exactly were they referring to? Did they mean literally upstream, or was "up" a cardinal direction like "uptown" and "downtown"?

Answer 1

However, if you are downstream without a paddle, then you're in serious trouble, because if you can't paddle back up the creek, it's going to keep taking you further downstream.

So why in the English language do we say "up the creek" instead of "down the creek"?

You have misunderstood the analogy.

Your job was to go all the way up the creek.

You now cannot go up the creek because you do not have a paddle.

A problem has arisen that means that you cannot accomplish your goal.

You are in trouble.

Answer 2

Have a look at this great writeup on World Wide Words which discusses several possible origins of the phrase.

One suggestion is an evolution of the phrase "something up the creek":

There are mildly tantalising earlier appearances in US newspapers. In 1915, a report quoted a local councillor: “there is something rotten up the creek”; a letter in 1901 argued “there was something dead up the creek”; one from 1896 scathingly referred to “the boys up the creek”.

Being up the creek perhaps meant to be in the more rural and less savoury areas or it could be taken to mean that something bad upstream was affecting the downstream.

Another theory is that it comes from

"to be up Salt River", which sometimes appeared as "up Salt Creek".

This phrase was historically used for political defeat. The Wikipedia article discusses its origin:

"one of those threats which in Georgia dialect would subject a man to 'a rowing up salt river'."

which meant to beat someone up.

"Without a paddle" and the more vulgar version are discussed as later variants to emphasize the phrase.