For my sister, I think she functions better when she finds herself in a jam for some reason. One thing is for sure - her life is never boring.

I try to avoid situations like this because I don't like getting myself in a fix and like things to be calm and easy going. I mean you can have four lanes worth of cars in a two lane highway. They are inches from each other, and I am not exaggerating. Driving there was one of the worst experiences of my life, and when I could, I simply deferred to the services of a driver and let myself sit in the passenger seat.

One of the biggest frustrations is that when it happens, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Getting mad and upset doesn't change anything or make the time go by any faster. The only thing I can think of is how you have to use the right amount of pectin to make sure your jam gels. If you don't use enough, it will be too runny and not hold together properly. But this is just for the word itself. The phrase "being in a jam" to me, means being in trouble, or a bad situation whatever that is. If I'm in a situation that I don't like or don't want to be in, I say "I'm in a jam."

My idea of someone "being in a jam", or in a tight spot has to do with relationships. One of my sisters is very blunt and never stops to think before she says anything.Charred - I don’t really get what jelly jam has to do with this word’s etymology. What does it mean if you say that you’re in a bit of a “fruit jam”? That really doesn’t make sense. In what other meanings do you folks use "jam" and "to be in a jam?" I'm sure there must be lots of other uses we don't know about.