In dire straits or need British American phrase
“Dire Straits” is originated from geography. A strait is a narrow body of water situated between two land masses which then connects two larger bodies of water. Therefore, some straits are too difficult to sail through because of the narrowness.
In a very bad situation that is difficult to fix
After her husband's death, she was in dire need.
If we lose the best player, our team will find itself in dire straits.
The fierce storm left the region in dire straits for a long time.
'In dire straits' is often used as an 'adjective phrase' in the sentence which goes after 'to be'.
According to Citrinitas, 'in dire straits' appears a lot in Bible. However, the earliest times that this phrase was used as the idiom is in Joseph Thomson’s work, “A Masai Adventure” in the chapter titled Good Words, 1800s:
“he answered with unusual humility, showing to what dire straits they had fallen.”
If you swallow the bait, you take something that someone offers you, or agree to do something that someone asks you to do without knowing that it is a trick or way of getting something from you.
You can't just do whatever he wants you to do. Don't swallow the bait.