Essere nei guai con qualcuno

Essere in disgrazia / Essere nella merda (Volg.)

Meanings

Fig.: to be in trouble, in an uncomfortable situation, in a state of disgrace facing punishmen

Examples

“How come you are sleeping on the sofa? What happened?” “Well, I'm in the doghouse. Last week I came home drunk and I forgot our wedding anniversary. Once again!”

Come mai dormi sul divano? Che cosa è successo?". "Beh, sono nei guai con mia moglie. La settimana scorsa sono tornato a casa ubriaco e, per di più, ho dimenticato il nostro anniversario di matrimonio. Ancora una volta!"

He's really in the doghouse at work! They found out that he called in sick but he actually went hunting. I'm afraid there's a pink slip in sight…

È davvero nella merda al lavoro! Hanno scoperto che si è dato malato, ma che, in realtà, è andato a caccia. Temo che ci sia un licenziamento in vista...

Origin

The most natural explanation that comes to mind is the one that refers to punishing a dog, by sending him outdoor to his doghouse.

There is, however, a more complex hypothesis, which dates back to the days of slave trading. The holds of ships carrying human cargo from Africa to the USA were modified to become enormous dormitories. This left little if any room below deck for crew members to sleep. This was solved by building kennel style huts (dog houses) on the deck for sailors to use as bunks. Of course sleeping on the upper deck in these hot humid and somewhat air-free hutches was very unpleasant (harbourguides.com