Between two stools


What's the meaning of the phrase 'Between two stools'?

To be ‘between two stools’ is to fail, due to being unable to choose between two alternatives.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Between two stools'?

This is an old proverbial phrase. The full version is ‘between two stools one falls to the ground’. It is first cited in John Gower’s Confessio Amantis, 1390:

“Thou farst [farest] as he betwen tuo stoles That wolde sitte and goth to grounde.”

The first recorded use in modern English is in Matthew Prior’s comic poem Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind, 1717:

Now which were wise, and which were fools?
Poor Alma sits between two stools;
The more she reads the more perplex’d,
The comment ruining the text:
Now fears, now hopes her doubtful fate.

See also: the List of Proverbs.

Trend of between two stools in printed material over time

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.
Between two stools

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