damned if one does and damned if one doesn't

English

Alternative forms

• you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adjective

damned if one does and damned if one doesn't (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Of a situation where either choice results in a negative outcome.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dilemma, Thesaurus:difficult situation

   If John leaves for New York to follow his career, his father will disinherit him. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

   Damned if I do and damned if I don't.

   Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Translations

dilemma with bad outcomes

• Esperanto: tiel aĉe, kaj tiel malbone
• Finnish: pulassa joka tapauksessa, kusessa joka tapauksessa (vulgar)
• French: c’est un choix cornélien, quoi que je fasse, ce n’est jamais bon, la peste ou le choléra (fr), on est perdant dans tous les cas
• Polish: i tak źle, i tak niedobrze
• Portuguese: se correr o bicho pega, se ficar o bicho come
• Russian: куда́ ни кинь, всю́ду клин (kudá ni kinʹ, vsjúdu klin)
• Spanish: palos porque bogas, palos porque no bogas
• Tagalog: sala sa init, sala sa lamig
• Turkish: aşağı tükürsen sakal, yukarı tükürsen bıyık

See also

• can't do right for doing wrong (BrE)
• Ginsberg's theorem