Another expression,
between the devil">devil">devil">devil and the deep blue sea
, also gives you a choice between two equally dangerous things.
Its meaning seems clear. You can choose the devil">devil">devil">devil and his burning fires of hell. Or, you can choose to drown in the sea. Some word experts say the expression comes from the days of wooden ships.
The
devil">devil
is a word for a seam between two pieces of wood along the water-line of a ship. If the seam or crack between the two pieces of wood begins to leak, then a sailor must fix it. The sailor ordered to make the repairs was in a dangerous situation. He was hanging over the side of the ship, working between the
devil">devil
and the
deep blue sea
.
There is still another expression that describes a situation with only bad choices,
being on the horns of a dilemma.
The dictionary says a dilemma is a situation in which you must make a decision about two equally balanced choices. When your dilemma has horns, a choice becomes impossible. When you are
on the horns of a dilemma
, no matter which horn you choose, something bad will happen.
(MUSIC)
This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Christiano. I’m Christopher Cruise.
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2013-11-25
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