Scylla

[ sil-uh ]

noun

1. Modern_name Scilla. a rock in the Strait of Messina off the S coast of Italy.
2. Classical Mythology. a sea nymph who was transformed into a sea monster: later identified with the rock Scylla. Compare Charybdis ( def 2 ).

Scylla

/ ˈsɪlə /

noun

1. Greek myth a sea nymph transformed into a sea monster believed to drown sailors navigating the Strait of Messina. She was identified with a rock off the Italian coast Compare Charybdis
2. between Scylla and Charybdis
   in a predicament in which avoidance of either of two dangers means exposure to the other

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. between Scylla and Charybdis, between two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering and probably falling victim to the other.

More idioms and phrases containing Scylla

see between a rock and a hard place (Scylla and Charybdis) .

Example Sentences

“Bernanke was actually an exception,” says Richard Scylla, the eminent New York University financial historian.

From The Daily Beast

Meanwhile many ordinary Egyptians will find themselves back at square one, caught between Scylla and Charybdis.

From The Daily Beast

Yes; and rather easy in avoiding Scylla to fall into Charybdis.

From Project Gutenberg

But escaping Scylla she fell into Charybdis; her uncanny practices came to the ears of the authorities, and she was apprehended.

From Project Gutenberg

It is the part of fools to fall upon Scylla in striving to avoid Charybdis.

From Project Gutenberg

The ancients would have represented it as a sea-monster with open jaws, more terrible than Scylla and Charybdis.

From Project Gutenberg

The channel remains to-day just as it ever did, with Scylla and Charybdis presiding over their rocks as of old.

From Project Gutenberg