be in trouble—
1. be in a difficult or dangerous situation:
- The Youth Board finds the youngsters who are in trouble and begins to work with them.
2. (euph., of an unmarried woman) be pregnant:
- She said she consented to be married to the prisoner as she believed she was in trouble.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase be troubled—
1. be put to the inconvenience of doing smth.:
- Mineralogists have often been troubled to distinguish with certainty between apatite and nephelin.
2. be anxious or concerned:
- The King was troubled, lest this eloquent man should shake his resolution.
have trouble—experience serious problems:
- The telegraph lines began to have trouble, and for a while the experts couldn’t figure out what was the matter.