hot water

noun

1. A dangerous situation; trouble.

   “Both students are in hot water from fighting.”

2. Fierce criticism.

   “The government's new proposal has landed them in hot water.”

   “Zuckerberg got into hot water on Wednesday when he stated that Facebook wouldn’t necessarily remove Holocaust deniers from its platform because people “get things wrong” and because it’s not always possible to understand the deniers’ intent.”

3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hot, water.