C1idiomdecisionsIELTS-friendly
between a rock and a hard place
USUK
having to choose between two options that are both unpleasant
Often after 'be', 'stuck' or 'caught'. Vietnamese 'tiến thoái lưỡng nan' is a good match.
In context
Lan is between a rock and a hard place: take the job abroad or stay with her parents.
Raising prices would lose customers, but keeping them low would lose money. We're between a rock and a hard place.
More idioms about decisions
- a Catch-22a situation you can't escape because each solution depends on the other
- a change of hearta change in your opinion or plan, usually towards a kinder or different view
- a double-edged swordsomething that has both good and bad effects
- a fait accomplisomething already decided or done that others must now accept
- a foregone conclusiona result that is certain before it happens