See Sophie's choice on Wiktionary
{ "etymology_text": "From the title of the book Sophie's Choice (1979), by William Styron, in which a mother is forced to decide which of her children will die.", "forms": [ { "form": "Sophie's choices", "tags": [ "plural" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": { "head": "Sophie's choice" }, "expansion": "Sophie's choice (plural Sophie's choices)", "name": "en-noun" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "noun", "senses": [ { "categories": [ { "kind": "other", "name": "English entries with incorrect language header", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Entries with translation boxes", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with 1 entry", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with entries", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "name": "Terms with Czech translations", "parents": [], "source": "w" }, { "kind": "other", "langcode": "en", "name": "Death", "orig": "en:Death", "parents": [], "source": "w" } ], "examples": [ { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 147, 162 ] ], "ref": "2004 March 17, Bradley Graham, “Simulated Attacks Repelled In Antimissile War Game; U.S. Almost Exhausted Arsenal of Interceptors”, in Washington Post, page A03:", "text": "As things turned out, all the enemy missiles were destroyed in flight -- two were hit very early after launch by an airborne laser system -- and a Sophie's choice was averted.\"", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 19, 34 ] ], "ref": "2004 March 2, “Committees OK boost for KidCare; Panels vote for additional $25M”, in Tallahassee Democrat:", "text": "We've been given a Sophie's Choice,' said Senate Minority Leader Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. 'We can improperly care for some children vs. improperly care for other children.'", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "A choice where every alternative has significant negative consequences." ], "id": "en-Sophie's_choice-en-noun-RsoTTg0p", "links": [ [ "choice", "choice" ], [ "alternative", "alternative" ], [ "negative", "negative" ], [ "consequence", "consequence" ] ], "related": [ { "word": "Hobson's choice" } ], "synonyms": [ { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "Catch-22" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "dilemma" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "Morton's fork" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "no-win situation" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "quandary" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "Sophie's choice" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "vulgar" ], "word": "ass in a sling" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "bind" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "idiomatic" ], "word": "bucket of syrup" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "calvary" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "figuratively" ], "word": "cross" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "idiomatic" ], "word": "cross to bear" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "difficulty" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "dilemma" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "dire straits" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "doghouse" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "fix" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "hole" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "jam" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "idiomatic" ], "word": "kettle of fish" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "ordeal" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "pickle" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "pinch" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "plight" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "predicament" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "quandary" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "quagmire" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "situation" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "spot" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "spot of bother" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "sticky situation" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "sticky wicket" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "tight spot" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "trouble" } ], "translations": [ { "code": "cs", "lang": "Czech", "sense": "choice where every alternative has significant negative consequences", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "Sofiina volba" } ], "wikipedia": [ "William Styron" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Sophie's choice.wav", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav.ogg" } ], "word": "Sophie's choice" }
{ "etymology_text": "From the title of the book Sophie's Choice (1979), by William Styron, in which a mother is forced to decide which of her children will die.", "forms": [ { "form": "Sophie's choices", "tags": [ "plural" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": { "head": "Sophie's choice" }, "expansion": "Sophie's choice (plural Sophie's choices)", "name": "en-noun" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "noun", "related": [ { "word": "Hobson's choice" } ], "senses": [ { "categories": [ "English countable nouns", "English entries with incorrect language header", "English eponyms", "English lemmas", "English multiword terms", "English nouns", "English terms derived from fiction", "English terms with quotations", "Entries with translation boxes", "Pages with 1 entry", "Pages with entries", "Terms with Czech translations", "en:Death" ], "examples": [ { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 147, 162 ] ], "ref": "2004 March 17, Bradley Graham, “Simulated Attacks Repelled In Antimissile War Game; U.S. Almost Exhausted Arsenal of Interceptors”, in Washington Post, page A03:", "text": "As things turned out, all the enemy missiles were destroyed in flight -- two were hit very early after launch by an airborne laser system -- and a Sophie's choice was averted.\"", "type": "quote" }, { "bold_text_offsets": [ [ 19, 34 ] ], "ref": "2004 March 2, “Committees OK boost for KidCare; Panels vote for additional $25M”, in Tallahassee Democrat:", "text": "We've been given a Sophie's Choice,' said Senate Minority Leader Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. 'We can improperly care for some children vs. improperly care for other children.'", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "A choice where every alternative has significant negative consequences." ], "links": [ [ "choice", "choice" ], [ "alternative", "alternative" ], [ "negative", "negative" ], [ "consequence", "consequence" ] ], "synonyms": [ { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "Catch-22" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "dilemma" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "Morton's fork" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "no-win situation" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "quandary" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:dilemma", "word": "Sophie's choice" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "vulgar" ], "word": "ass in a sling" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "bind" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "idiomatic" ], "word": "bucket of syrup" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "calvary" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "figuratively" ], "word": "cross" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "idiomatic" ], "word": "cross to bear" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "difficulty" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "dilemma" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "dire straits" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "doghouse" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "fix" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "hole" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "jam" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "tags": [ "idiomatic" ], "word": "kettle of fish" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "ordeal" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "pickle" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "pinch" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "plight" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "predicament" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "quandary" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "quagmire" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "situation" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "spot" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "spot of bother" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "sticky situation" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "sticky wicket" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "tight spot" }, { "source": "Thesaurus:difficult situation", "word": "trouble" } ], "wikipedia": [ "William Styron" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Sophie's choice.wav", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-Sophie%26%2339%3Bs_choice.wav.ogg" } ], "translations": [ { "code": "cs", "lang": "Czech", "sense": "choice where every alternative has significant negative consequences", "tags": [ "feminine" ], "word": "Sofiina volba" } ], "word": "Sophie's choice" }
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-05-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-05-01 using wiktextract (89ebc88 and e74c913). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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