Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

between a rock and a hard place

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.79 in modern English

Syllables: be-tween a rock- and a hard -place
IPA

45

Scrabble Score

25

Letters

4

Syllables

14

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

In a difficult and inescapable position.

prep_phrase

Having the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.

Example Sentences

"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."
"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."
"Husbands, it seems to me, are caught between the Rock of Feminism and the Hard Place of their own marriages […]"
"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."

Etymology

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.

Inflected Forms

betwixt a rock and a hard place (alternative)

Synonyms

between Scylla and Charybdis between the devil and the deep blue sea between a rock and a hard place 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 in bad bread on the horns of a dilemma

Questions

What does between a rock and a hard place mean?: In a difficult and inescapable position.
Where does between a rock and a hard place come from?: 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.

How to pronounce between a rock and a hard place

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