Meanings
alternative betwixt a rock and a hard place
- idiomaticIn a difficult and inescapable position.First known use early 20th c.
A dish gone awry after adding the wrong ingredient. Chewing your way through this won't be fun, but it will fill you up when you're between a rock and a hard place.
2017 March 3, Nintendo EPD, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo, description for Rock-Hard Food1 more example
After meeting again that afternoon with Donna, Wilbur had advised her that she was indeed between a rock and a hard place. She could not hope to recover and build back the lost business until the suits were settled, and it appeared that the only way to settle the suits without going to court was to liquidate the mortuary assets or tap into the Clifton's personal funds.
2008, David Merde, Beyond Final Arrangements, page 511 - idiomaticHaving the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
Husbands, it seems to me, are caught between the Rock of Feminism and the Hard Place of their own marriages […]
1970, David Sim, Tangent1 more example
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.
2008 September 11, Eric Dash, Geraldine Fabrikant, “Washington Mutual stock falls on investor fears”, in New York Times, retrieved 24 Aug 2012Synonyms: between Scylla and Charybdis, between the devil and the deep blue sea, between Scylla and Charybdis, between the devil and the deep blue sea, between the hammer and the anvil, between two fires, damned if one does and damned if one doesn't, doomed if you do
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseHaving the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
Origin
Originated in the United States before 1918 in the Southwest, possibly in connection with mining. Related to the concept of the Ancient Greeks: between Scylla and Charybdis.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بَيْنَ المِطْرَقَة وَالسِّنْدَان, أَمامَ خِيارَيْنِ أَحْلاهُمَا مُرّ
- بَيْنَ المِطْرَقَة وَالسِّنْدَان (bayna l-mitraqa wa s-sindān)in a difficult and inescapable position
- أَمامَ خِيارَيْنِ أَحْلاهُمَا مُرّ (ʔamāma ḵiyārayni ʔaḥlāhumā murr)having the choice between two unpleasant options
Catalan entre l'espasa i la paret
- entre l'espasa i la paretin a difficult and inescapable position
Chinese Cantonese 進退兩難 /进退两难
- 進退兩難 /进退两难 (zeon³ teoi³ loeng⁵ naan⁴)having the choice between two unpleasant options
Chinese Mandarin 進退兩難 /进退两难
- 進退兩難 /进退两难 (jìntuìliǎngnán)having the choice between two unpleasant options
Czech dvěma mlýnskými kameny
- dvěma mlýnskými kamenyin a difficult and inescapable position
Danish (valge) mellem pest og kolera
- (valge) mellem pest og kolerahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Dutch (kiezen) tussen pest en cholera
- (kiezen) tussen pest en cholerahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Esperanto esti inter martelo kaj amboso
- esti inter martelo kaj ambosohaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Finnish puun ja kuoren välissä, valita ruton ja koleran väliltä
- puun ja kuoren välissäin a difficult and inescapable position
- valita ruton ja koleran väliltäin a difficult and inescapable position
- kiipelissäin a difficult and inescapable position
- puun ja kuoren välissähaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- kahden tulen välissähaving the choice between two unpleasant options
French entre le marteau et l'enclume, entre l'arbre et l'écorce
- entre le marteau et l'enclumein a difficult and inescapable position
- entre l'arbre et l'écorcein a difficult and inescapable position
- pris entre deux feuxin a difficult and inescapable position
- entre la peste et le cholérahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- entre le marteau et l'enclumehaving the choice between two unpleasant options
German in der Zwickmühle, zwischen Hammer und Amboss
- in der Zwickmühlein a difficult and inescapable position
- zwischen Hammer und Ambossin a difficult and inescapable position
- zwischen den Stühlenin a difficult and inescapable position
- zwischen Baum und Borkein a difficult and inescapable position
- weder ein noch aus wissenin a difficult and inescapable position
- zwischen Pest und Cholerahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Greek μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα, μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα
- μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα (bros gkremós kai píso réma)in a difficult and inescapable position
- μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα (bros gkremós kai píso réma)having the choice between two unpleasant options
Hebrew בֵּין הַפַּטִּישׁ וְהַסַּדָּן
- בֵּין הַפַּטִּישׁ וְהַסַּדָּן (bein hapatísh vehasadán)in a difficult and inescapable position
Hindi आगे कुआँ पीछे खाई
- आगे कुआँ पीछे खाई (āge kuā̃ pīche khāī)in a difficult and inescapable position
Hungarian kutyaszorító, két tűz között
- kutyaszorítóhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- két tűz közötthaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- két malomkő közötthaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- nem tudja, melyik ujját harapja lehaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- nehéz helyzetbenhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Icelandic á milli steins og sleggju, milli tveggja elda
- á milli steins og sleggjuin a difficult and inescapable position
- milli tveggja eldain a difficult and inescapable position
- á milli steins og sleggjuhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- milli tveggja eldahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Italian tra l'incudine e il martello, fra l'incudine ed il martello
- tra l'incudine e il martelloin a difficult and inescapable position
- fra l'incudine ed il martellohaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Korean 진퇴양난, 빼도 박도 못한다
- 진퇴양난 (jintoeyangnan)in a difficult and inescapable position
- 빼도 박도 못한다 (ppaedo bakdo mothanda)in a difficult and inescapable position
Latin inter sacrum saxumque, a fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi
- inter sacrum saxumquein a difficult and inescapable position
- a fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupiin a difficult and inescapable position
Norwegian Bokmål mellom barken og veden
- mellom barken og vedenin a difficult and inescapable position
Polish między młotem a kowadłem, między młotem a kowadłem
- między młotem a kowadłemin a difficult and inescapable position
- między młotem a kowadłemhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Portuguese entre a cruz e a espada, entre a cruz e a caldeirinha
- entre a cruz e a espadain a difficult and inescapable position
- entre a cruz e a caldeirinhain a difficult and inescapable position
- entre a espada e a paredein a difficult and inescapable position
- entre a cruz e a espadahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- entre a espada e a paredehaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Romanian între ciocan și nicovală
- între ciocan și nicovalăin a difficult and inescapable position
Russian ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней, ме́жду двух огне́й
- ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней (méždu mólotom i nakoválʹnej)in a difficult and inescapable position
- ме́жду двух огне́й (méždu dvux ognéj)in a difficult and inescapable position
- ме́жду двух огне́й (méždu dvux ognéj)having the choice between two unpleasant options
- ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней (méždu mólotom i nakoválʹnej)having the choice between two unpleasant options
Scottish Gaelic eadar dà chloich, eadar a' chlach is an sgrath
- eadar dà chloichin a difficult and inescapable position
- eadar a' chlach is an sgrathin a difficult and inescapable position
- eadar a' chlach is an sgrathhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Spanish entre la espada y la pared, entre la cruz y el agua bendita
- entre la espada y la paredin a difficult and inescapable position
- entre la cruz y el agua benditain a difficult and inescapable position
- entre la espada y la paredhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Swedish mellan pest och kolera, mellan två eldar
- mellan pest och kolerahaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- mellan två eldarhaving the choice between two unpleasant options
- i valet och kvalethaving the choice between two unpleasant options
Turkish iki arada bir derede
- iki arada bir deredein a difficult and inescapable position
Vietnamese tiến thoái lưỡng nan
- tiến thoái lưỡng nanin a difficult and inescapable position
Yiddish צווישן האַמער און קאָוואַדלע
- צווישן האַמער און קאָוואַדלע (tsvishn hamer un kovadle)in a difficult and inescapable position
Cite this entry
between a rock and a hard place. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/between%20a%20rock%20and%20a%20hard%20place
“between a rock and a hard place.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/between%20a%20rock%20and%20a%20hard%20place. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “between a rock and a hard place,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/between%20a%20rock%20and%20a%20hard%20place.
Source: between a rock and a hard place on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.