a difficult situation, such as debt or bankruptcy (in the phrase in queer street)
Queer Street in American English
noun
a condition of financial instability or embarrassment
Such extravagance will surely put them in Queer Street
Word origin
[1830–40]This word is first recorded in the period 1830–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: baby talk, isomerism, paraffin, rococo, stroboscope