between a rock and a hard place

English

WOTD – 21 September 2008

Etymology

Related to the concept of the Ancient Greeks: "between Scylla and Charybdis." Originated in the United States before 1918 in southwest, possibly in connection with mining.

Pronunciation

Audio (US) (file)
Audio (AU) (file)

Prepositional phrase

between a rock and a hard place

(idiomatic, US) Bankrupt.
(idiomatic) In a difficult and inescapable position.
(idiomatic) Having the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
- 1970, David Sim, "Tangent":
  Husbands, it seems to me, are caught between the Rock of Feminism and the Hard Place of their own marriages […]
- 2008 Sept. 11, Eric Dash and Geraldine Fabrikant, "Washington Mutual stock falls on investor fears", New York Times (retrieved 24 Aug 2012):
  If Washington Mutual needs to raise capital quickly, it will very likely find itself between a rock and a hard place, because credit markets have all but closed their doors to troubled banks.

Synonyms

(facing an unpleasant choice): (caught) between the devil and the deep blue sea, between Scylla and Charybdis, be on the horns of a dilemma; between the hammer and the anvil (principally UK)

Translations

bankrupt

Finnish: vararikossa

in a difficult and inescapable position

Arabic: بَيْنَ المِطْرَقَة وَالسِّنْدَان‎ (bayna l-mitraqa wa s-sindān) (between the hammer and the anvil)
Armenian: երկու քարի արանքում (hy) (erku kʿari arankʿum) (between two stones)
Catalan: entre l'espasa i la paret (between the sword and the wall)
Finnish: puun ja kuoren välissä (between the wood and the bark), kiipelissä
French: entre le marteau et l'enclume (fr) (between the hammer and the anvil), entre l'arbre et l'écorce (between the wood and the bark)
German: in der Zwickmühle; zwischen Hammer und Amboss (between the hammer and the anvil); zwischen den Stühlen (between the stools); zwischen Baum und Borke (between the tree and the bark); weder ein noch aus wissen (not to know in nor out)
Greek: μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα (bros gkremós kai píso réma) (cliff in front, torrent behind. colloquial), μεταξύ σφύρας και άκμωνος (metaxý sfýras kai ákmonos) (between the hammer and the anvil), μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης (metaxý Skýllas kai Cháryvdis) (between Scylla and Charybdis)
Hebrew: בֵּין הַפַּטִּישׁ וְהַסַּדָּן‎ (he) (bein hapatísh vehasadán) (between the hammer and the anvil)
Icelandic: á milli steins og sleggju (is) (between a stone and a hammer), milli tveggja elda (is) (between two fires)

Italian: tra l'incudine e il martello
Japanese: 板ばさみ (ita-basami) (between two boards)
Polish: między młotem a kowadłem (pl)
Portuguese: entre a cruz e a espada (pt) (between the cross and the sword)
Romanian: între ciocan și nicovală (between the hammer and the anvil)
Russian: ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней (ru) (méždu mólotom i nakoválʹnej) (between a hammer and an anvil), ме́жду двух огне́й (méždu dvux ognéj) (between two fires)
Spanish: entre la espada y la pared (es) (between the sword and the wall)
Yiddish: צווישן האַמער און קאָוואַדלע‎ (tsvishn hamer un kovadle) (between hammer and anvil)

having the choice between two unpleasant options

Danish: (valge) mellem pest og kolera ((choose) between plague and cholera)
Dutch: (kiezen) tussen pest en cholera ((choose) between plague and cholera)
French: entre la peste et le choléra (between the plague and cholera)

German: zwischen Pest und Cholera
Greek: μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα (bros gkremós kai píso réma) (cliff in front, torrent behind. colloquial), μεταξύ σφύρας και άκμωνος (metaxý sfýras kai ákmonos) (between the hammer and the anvil), μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης (metaxý Skýllas kai Cháryvdis) (between Scylla and Charybdis)
Swedish: mellan pest och kolera (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked‌: "between a rock and a hard place"

Chinese:
Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 進退兩難 (zh), 进退两难 (zh) (jìntuìliǎngnán)
Czech: ^{(please verify)} z bláta do louže (cs)

Khmer: ^{(please verify)} ចុះទឹកក្រពើរ ឡើងលើខ្លា (coh tɨk krɑpəə rɔɔ laəŋ ləə klaa)
Telugu: ^{(please verify)} ముందు నుయ్యి వెనుక గొయ్యి (mundu nuyyi venuka goyyi)

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