between a rock and a hard place

1. Faced with two equally dangerous or difficult choices or circumstances: “Trying to please two supervisors is like being between a rock and a hard place.” This phrase dates from the early twentieth century.

Idioms and Phrases

Also, between the devil and the deep blue sea or Scylla and Charybdis . Between two equally difficult or unacceptable choices. For example, Trying to please both my boss and his supervisor puts me between a rock and a hard place . The rock and hard place version is the newest of these synonymous phrases, dating from the early 1900s, and alludes to being caught or crushed between two rocks. The oldest is Scylla and Charybdis , which in Homer's Odyssey signified a monster on a rock (Scylla) and a fatal whirlpool (Charybdis), between which Odysseus had to sail through a narrow passage. It was used figuratively by the Roman writer Virgil and many writers since. The devil in devil and deep blue sea , according to lexicographer Charles Earle Funk, referred to a seam around a ship's hull near the waterline, which, if a sailor was trying to caulk it in heavy seas, would cause him to fall overboard. Others disagree, however, and believe the phrase simply alludes to a choice between hellfire with the devil and drowning in deep waters.

Example Sentences

With just a year left on the midfielder's contract, Chelsea and Maresca found themselves between a rock and a hard place.

From BBC

However, she said she still felt caught between a "rock and a hard place".

From BBC

Here’s another catch: Many loan servicers are not processing new IDR applications, so borrowers are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

From Salon

Dr Sue Ellis, former professor of education at Strathclyde University, said councils are “stuck between a rock and a hard place” and that the lack of flexibility over teacher numbers from the Scottish government is not helping.

From BBC

“I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place,” he told the BBC.

From BBC