between a rock and a hard place
to be in a dilemma
TRANSLATION
in einem Dilemma stecken, zwischen Baum und Borke stecken, in der Klemme sitzen, in der Zwickmühle stecken, in einer Zwickmühle stecken
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Between a Rock and a hard place - Relations between the United Kingdom and Spain over the British colony of Gibraltar are at their worst for some time. The Spanish Government issued a formal protest to the British ambassador in Madrid on Thursday over the treatment of Spanish fishermen by police in the waters around Gibraltar.
(BBC News - Jan 30th 1999)
(BBC News - Jan 30th 1999)
Did you
know?
between a rock and hard place
This phrase is nautical in origin, "Between a rock and a hard place" is a modern, non-literary variation on the much older "Between Scylla and Charybdis." Homer, in "The Odyssey" (written about 850 B.C.), describes a perilously narrow sea passage his hero must navigate between Scylla, a terrifying monster, and Charybdis, a massive whirlpool.
From Homer's time up until fairly recently, "Between Scylla and Charybdis" was a common metaphor for a perilous or difficult situation. With classical studies somewhat in eclipse these days (putting it mildly), the less demanding "Between a rock and a hard place" is far more commonly heard.
Source: Evan Morris
Synonyms:
predicament, plight, quandary, jam, fix, pickle - these nouns refer to a situation from which it is difficult to free oneself.
A PREDICAMENT is a problematic situation about which one does not know
what to do: "Werner finds himself suddenly in a most awkward predicament" (Thomas Carlyle).
A PLIGHT is a bad or unfortunate situation: The report examined the plight of homeless people.
A QUANDARY is a state of perplexity, especially about what course of action to take: "Having captured our men, we were in a quandary how to keep them" (Theodore Roosevelt).
JAM and FIX are less formal terms that refer to predicaments from which it is difficult to escape: "kids who were in a jam with the authorities"; "If we get left on this wreck we are in a fix" (Mark Twain).
An informal term, a PICKLE is a disagreeable, embarrassing, or troublesome predicament: "I could see no way out of the pickle I was in" (Robert Louis Stevenson).
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
This phrase is nautical in origin, "Between a rock and a hard place" is a modern, non-literary variation on the much older "Between Scylla and Charybdis." Homer, in "The Odyssey" (written about 850 B.C.), describes a perilously narrow sea passage his hero must navigate between Scylla, a terrifying monster, and Charybdis, a massive whirlpool.
From Homer's time up until fairly recently, "Between Scylla and Charybdis" was a common metaphor for a perilous or difficult situation. With classical studies somewhat in eclipse these days (putting it mildly), the less demanding "Between a rock and a hard place" is far more commonly heard.
Source: Evan Morris
Synonyms:
predicament, plight, quandary, jam, fix, pickle - these nouns refer to a situation from which it is difficult to free oneself.
A PREDICAMENT is a problematic situation about which one does not know
what to do: "Werner finds himself suddenly in a most awkward predicament" (Thomas Carlyle).
A PLIGHT is a bad or unfortunate situation: The report examined the plight of homeless people.
A QUANDARY is a state of perplexity, especially about what course of action to take: "Having captured our men, we were in a quandary how to keep them" (Theodore Roosevelt).
JAM and FIX are less formal terms that refer to predicaments from which it is difficult to escape: "kids who were in a jam with the authorities"; "If we get left on this wreck we are in a fix" (Mark Twain).
An informal term, a PICKLE is a disagreeable, embarrassing, or troublesome predicament: "I could see no way out of the pickle I was in" (Robert Louis Stevenson).
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
