Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

on the horns of a dilemma

/ɒn‿ðə ˈhɔːnz‿əv‿ə daɪˈlɛmə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.46 in modern English

Syllables: on the horns of a di-lem-ma
IPA: /ɒn‿ðə ˈhɔːnz‿əv‿ə daɪˈlɛmə/

34

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

3

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

Facing a choice between two equally undesirable alternatives.

Example Sentences

"To admit of the abſolute foreknovvledge of God, and yet to deny his predeſtination, even in its fulleſt extent, is a palpable abſurdity. The diſputant ſticks faſt on the horns of a dilemma, from vvhich he never can be diſengaged, vvithout the extraction of one. And yet to deny either, involves an equal abſurdity, and leaves the poor logician in the ſame predicament; […]"
"They vvere ſtuck on the horns of a dilemma, that ſorely pricked them; unable to find a better ſituation, and unreſolved to quit their preſent one."
"We are on the horns of a dilemma. If things go on in this manner and the rebellion is not suppressed, in a short time government won't have any copper and there is no knowing what may happen. If we get news of victory over the rebels, our doom is sealed, for it's my belief that every one of us will be put into the crucible and reduced to so much waste copper."
"He was busy organising opposition to Lord Ranfurly [Uchter Knox, 5th Earl of Ranfurly], when, in an unlucky moment for his cause, he was called up to sign the deed of cession as the representative of Avatele. Thus was he impaled on the horns of a dilemma. If he refused, another would have gone down to posterity as a greater than he in his own village; if he accepted, he stultified his own words."
"Ignatius [of Loyola] was on the horns of a dilemma. Should Francis [Borgia] remain in Spain, his fate was fixed. Should he escape to Rome, the Pope [Pope Julius III] would certainly make him a Cardinal."

Etymology

From horn (“alternative in an argument”), from Latin argūmentum cornūtum (“argument with alternatives”, literally “horned argument”), a reference to an alternative that one can metaphorically get caught on or injured by.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: argūmentum cornūtum

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ɒn‿ðə ˈhɔːnz‿əv‿ə daɪˈlɛmə/

Synonyms

between a rock and a hard place between Scylla and Charybdis damned if one does and damned if one doesn't between the devil and the deep blue sea between the hammer and the anvil between two fires doomed if you do doomed if you don't in a cleft stick in bad bread on the horns of a dilemma

Rhymes With

emma dilemma gemma pip emma ack emma lemma problema pema trilemma trema tetralemma stremma

Questions

How do you pronounce on the horns of a dilemma?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɒn‿ðə ˈhɔːnz‿əv‿ə daɪˈlɛmə/.
What does on the horns of a dilemma mean?: Facing a choice between two equally undesirable alternatives.
Where does on the horns of a dilemma come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce on the horns of a dilemma

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