between the devil and the deep blue sea
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Adjective
caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
- (idiomatic) Having a choice between two alternatives, both undesirable.
Translations
choice between two undesirable options
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See also
- lesser of two evils
- doomed if you do, doomed if you don't
- between a rock and a hard place
- between Scylla and Charybdis
- on the horns of a dilemma
- out of the frying pan, into the fire
- Hobson's choice
References
- Michael Quinion (2004) “Between the devil and the deep blue sea”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.