Re: Re: "between a rock and a hard place"

Posted by bob on February 06, 2000

In Reply to: Re: "Between a rock and a hard place" posted by ESC on February 05, 2000

: : I looking for the origin of the phrase "caught (or stuck) between a rock and a hard place". Thanks

: BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE -- From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman(Random House, New York, 1996): "Between a rock and a hard place. Forced to choose between two unpleasant options. The expression originated in the early twentieth century in the United States. It usually follows 'to be caught'." The "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Fact on File, New York, 1997) says "the expression was probably born in Arizona during a financial panic early in this century."

They say the Russians could never win the war in Afghanistan, because they were between Iraq and a hard place.