between a rock and a hard place

English translation: in a very difficult situation

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	between a rock and a hard place
Selected answer:	in a very difficult situation
Entered by:	airmailrpl

06:56 Dec 15, 2004

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Slang / idiom (?)

English term or phrase: between a rock and a hard place

I'm telling you, that girl was a Georgia peach, and she was the apple of my eye to boot. But I was between a rock and a hard place and didn't have so much as a pot to piss in. The thing is, if I had it to do all over again, it'd be a whole different story, you can bank on that.

Does "between a rock and a hard place" here mean literally, or is it an idiom? Thank you.

Yohanes Sutopo KudoZ activity Questions: 1124 (1 open) (1 without valid answers) (22 closed without grading) Answers: 22
Local time: 14:10

in a very difficult situation

Explanation:
between a rock and a hard place => in a very difficult situation

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2004-12-15 07:06:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Between A Rock And A Hard Place ( stuck between two opposing forces )
To say that one is stuck \"between a rock and a hard place\" stresses that there are two forces which are restricting one\'s movement. Often it is the opposite direction of these forces that causes the sticking point. One is unable for some particular reason to do something that one would like to do, such as act or not act in a certain way. \"I\'d like to help you but I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.\" To have someone between a rock and a hard place is to have them in a position that causes them to make a choice that they don\'t want to make. \"You\'ve got me between a rock and a hard place; I\'ll sell it to you at the price you quoted.\"
http://www.goenglish.com/BetweenARockAndAHardPlace.asp

between a rock and a hard place =>in a difficult position, making a difficult choice, => Sophie\'s choice..If I told the truth, I would lose my friend. I was between a rock and a hard place.
http://home.t-online.de/home/toni.goeller/idiom_wm/id71.htm

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2004-12-15 07:18:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Idioms:
between a rock and a hard place
Confronted with equally unpleasant alternatives and few or no opportunities to evade or circumvent them.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=rock

Idiom: between the devil and the deep blue sea
In a situation where the alternatives are equally undesirable.
Thesaurus: in trouble, desperate, in difficulty, between a rock and a hard place.
http://www.allwords.com/word-between the devil and the deep ...

-- \"between a rock and a hard place (in a difficult situation where the person cannot escape pain or failure)
http://www.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/barrett/webquest/idio...

If you find yourself caught between a rock and a hard place, it means that you are in a very awkward position and have to make a difficult choice. For example, If I told the truth, I would lose my friend. I was caught between a rock and a hard place.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/edu/edu_back/010716/vocab.sh...

Selected response from:

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 04:10

Grading comment

Thank you for your time.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +11

in a very difficult situation

airmailrpl

4 +4

idiom

Kardi Kho

4 +3

under conflicting pressures

Richard Benham

5 +1

an impossible situation

Charlesp

4 -1

broke, without a dime to his name, hard up

Refugio

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

idiom

Explanation:
It's an idiom meaning in a difficult situation, one where you have to choose between two things, both of which are unpleasant.
HTH

OED

Kardi Kho
Indonesia
Local time: 14:10
Native speaker of:

Indonesian

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

broke, without a dime to his name, hard up

Explanation:
In this case, I think it means he can't afford to pursue her, but in other contexts it could have a different meaning. Not having a pot to piss in mean to be very poor.

Refugio
Local time: 00:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +11

in a very difficult situation

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 04:10
Native speaker of:

English,

Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 32

Grading comment

Thank you for your time.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Gillian Scheibelein

19 mins

-> thank you

agree

Dr Sue Levy (X): once upon a time, we used to say "in a terrible dilemma" :-D

53 mins

-> thank you

agree

Richard Benham: I was going to put in my own answer, but I think your notes cover it. I think the expression combines the concepts of a choice between unpleasant alternatives and of being under pressure: that's why It'susually "stuck" or "caught between...".

1 hr

-> thank you

agree

Tony M

1 hr

-> thank you

agree

vixen

2 hrs

-> thank you

agree

Annika Neudecker: Definitely!

3 hrs

-> thank you

agree

Balaban Cerit

4 hrs

-> thank you

agree

NancyLynn

5 hrs

-> thank you

agree

Asghar Bhatti

11 hrs

-> thank you

agree

Lisa Russell

14 hrs

-> thank you

agree

Egmont

1 day 4 hrs

-> thank you

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

under conflicting pressures

Explanation:
I think that a couple of the answers submitted so far are quite good, but don't capture the essence of the concept. So I have changed my mind and decided to submit my own answers.

The difference between being (caught) "between a rock and a hard place" and say being in a dilemma is that the former has the overtones that there are conflicting pressures acting on you. If you are in a dilemma, there may be nothing and no-one actively exerting pressure on you, apart from the mere knowledge that, for example, if you choose X you will miss out on Y and vice versa.

Presumably this guy feels under financial pressure to save money, and perhaps moral pressure not to marry the girl and condemn her to poverty, but is under pressure in the opposite direction from his, hmmm, basic instincts in respect of the girl....

The text, BTW, seems to have been contrived in order to string together as many clichés into as few words as possible. It is not at all credible as English.

Richard Benham
France
Local time: 09:10
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

an impossible situation

Explanation:
an impossible situation: either choice, either choice, if it was a choice, would mean giving up something, or suffering for the negative consequences of the choice.

Charlesp
Sweden
Local time: 09:10
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

between a rock and a hard place

English translation: in a very difficult situation

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

between a rock and a hard place

English translation: in a very difficult situation

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language