dire straits (noun)

1. The painter captured the feeling of being in dire straits through his haunting portrayal of a shipwrecked crew.

2. In the classic love story, the couple faced dire straits when they were separated by war and had to overcome numerous obstacles to be reunited.

3. The cartoon character found himself in dire straits when he accidentally wandered into the villain's lair and had to come up with a clever plan to escape.

4. The protagonist's friends got into dire straits and it was up to him to save them from the clutches of evil in the thrilling anime series.