between the devil and the deep blue sea

alternative betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea · alternative the devil and the deep blue sea

1. idiomaticBetween undesirable alternatives.

   2 more examples

   Talking about the old Players' Union, it reminds me that at one meeting we had, a player stated that if a club had a horse they wanted to part with, some one would have to find the horse in fodder until the negotiations were finished. A player is during that time between the devil and the deep blue sea, and has to entirely support himself during that period, and I have known many excellent players give up the game for this reason.

   1908, John Cameron, Association Football and How to Play It, Chapter 11

   “I hope it's a funny hangin',” said Skeeter, serious again. “'Pears to me that it's a even bet whether I get hung or killed with a bullet. Kinda between the devil and the deep blue sea, as my dad used to say. I ain't got much choice, I reckon, unless it is to get out of town, and I hates to be herded.”

   1922, W. C. Tuttle, The Spark of Skeeter Bill

   Synonyms: between a rock and a hard place, between Scylla and Charybdis, between the hammer and the anvil, between two fires, damned if one does and damned if one doesn't, doomed if you do, doomed if you don't, in a cleft stick