in the cart

in the cart

obsolete In trouble; in a very bleak or grim situation. All of those recent layoffs point to a company in the cart yet again. I was in the cart there for a while, but I'm feeling much better after my hospital stay.
See also: cart
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

in the cart

in trouble or difficulty. British informal
A cart was formerly used to take convicted criminals to the public gallows and to expose prostitutes and other offenders to public humiliation in the streets.
See also: cart
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • cart before the horse, put the
  • put the cart before the horse
  • crash cart
  • honey cart
  • be in dire straits
  • strait
  • dire
  • bang in
  • bang in (sick)
  • bash up
References in classic literature
"For all that," said Don Quixote, "it will be well to visit the discourtesy of that devil upon some of those in the cart, even if it were the emperor himself."
So loud were the shouts of Don Quixote, that those in the cart heard and understood them, and, guessing by the words what the speaker's intention was, Death in an instant jumped out of the cart, and the emperor, the devil carter and the angel after him, nor did the queen or the god Cupid stay behind; and all armed themselves with stones and formed in line, prepared to receive Don Quixote on the points of their pebbles.
"The last, dad!" the lad shouted back, pulling in the horse, and, smiling, he looked round at a bright, rosy-checked peasant girl who sat in the cart smiling too, and drove on.
Ivan, obviously doing his best to save her every minute of unnecessary labor, made haste, opening his arms to clutch the bundle and lay it in the cart. As she raked together what was left of the hay, the young wife shook off the bits of hay that had fallen on her neck, and straightening the red kerchief that had dropped forward over her white brow, not browned like her face by the sun, she crept under the cart to tie up the load.
The buyer scans the barcodes and puts the products in the cart. Payment can be made at either the cashier or at self-checkout without shifting and rescanning.
In the U.S., Rogers, Ark.-based Mart Cart has gone electric with its entry in the cart derby.
"After participating in the process, they are fully invested in the cart by the time it hits the floor."
All of Anthro's mobile device Carts and Cabinets feature a power indicator light and an on/off switch which protects the contents from a power surge when plugging in the cart and devices.
When shoppers invest themselves in the cart, they don't want to go anywhere else to shop," he says.
The city objected but then relented because the sign was in the cart and not on the exterior.
To prevent falls from shopping carts, use seatbelts to restrain your child in the cart and watch him closely while shopping.
Along with location-based promotions, the Concierge recommends recipes that go well with the products being placed in the cart, and even offers a recipe library that can be accessed on the screen.
This placement is safer for the child and frees up room in the cart that would have been taken up by the infant seat.
Diesel and gasoline powered golf carts can further be segmented on the basis of motors used in the carts. The most preferred golf cart is the electric golf cart, due to the fact that electric cars are produced in high quantity for the use in golf courses.