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Definition 2024

between_the_devil_and_the_deep_sea

caught between the devil and the deep blue sea

English

Alternative forms

between the devil and the deep sea

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

Chinese:
Mandarin: 進退兩難 (zh), 进退两难 (zh) ‎(jìntuìliǎngnán)
Finnish: puun ja kuoren välissä
French: entre l'enclume et le marteau
Icelandic: á milli steins og sleggju (is), milli tveggja elda (is)
Japanese: 前門の虎、後門の狼 ‎(ぜんもんのとら、こうもんのおおかみ; zenmon no tora, kōmon no ōkami) (a tiger at the front gate, a wolf at the back gate)

Portuguese: entre a cruz e a espada (between the cross and the sword)
Russian: ме́жду двух огне́й ‎(méždu dvux ognéj) (between two fires), ме́жду мо́лотом и накова́льней (ru) ‎(méždu mólotom i nakoválʹnej) (between hammer and anvil)
Spanish: entre la espada y la pared (between the sword and the wall)
Swedish: mellan två eldar (between two fires), i valet och kvalet (in the choice and the torment)

See also

References

"Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea" in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds, 2004.