Questions about "in the soup"

[Mark A Mandel]

On Fri, 4 Oct 2002, Gerald Cohen wrote:

#4) Have any articles been written analyzing slang expressions which
#denote being in a  difficult or hopeless situation, e.g., "in the
#soup," "in a pickle," "your goose is cooked"? Btw, why do we say
#"Your goose is cooked"? Why not a duck or a chicken? And if one of
#these birds *is* cooked, how does this cause anyone to be in a
#hopeless situation?

FWIW, "goose" comes closer to alliteration and assonance with "cooked"
than either other fowl. Just an observation/speculation.

-- Mark A. Mandel