"between the devil and the deep blue sea" meaning in English

See between the devil and the deep blue sea in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: en-au-caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.ogg
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=between the devil and the deep blue sea}} between the devil and the deep blue sea, {{en-PP|head=between the devil and the deep blue sea}} between the devil and the deep blue sea
  1. (idiomatic) Between undesirable alternatives. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: in a dilemma, betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea, the devil and the deep blue sea Related terms: between a rock and a hard place, Hobson's choice, lesser of two evils Related terms (the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready): devil to pay, and no pitch hot, devil to pay
    Sense id: en-between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea-en-prep_phrase-rMGQ0i7n Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": "between the devil and the deep blue sea"
      },
      "expansion": "between the devil and the deep blue sea",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "between the devil and the deep blue sea"
      },
      "expansion": "between the devil and the deep blue sea",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Between undesirable alternatives."
      ],
      "id": "en-between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea-en-prep_phrase-rMGQ0i7n",
      "links": [
        [
          "undesirable",
          "undesirable"
        ],
        [
          "alternative",
          "alternative"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Between undesirable alternatives."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "sense": "the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready",
          "word": "devil to pay, and no pitch hot"
        },
        {
          "sense": "the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready",
          "word": "devil to pay"
        },
        {
          "word": "between a rock and a hard place"
        },
        {
          "word": "Hobson's choice"
        },
        {
          "word": "lesser of two evils"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "in a dilemma"
        },
        {
          "word": "betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea"
        },
        {
          "word": "the devil and the deep blue sea"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cc/En-au-caught_between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea.ogg/En-au-caught_between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/En-au-caught_between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "between the devil and the deep blue sea"
}
{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": "between the devil and the deep blue sea"
      },
      "expansion": "between the devil and the deep blue sea",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "head": "between the devil and the deep blue sea"
      },
      "expansion": "between the devil and the deep blue sea",
      "name": "en-PP"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "sense": "the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready",
      "word": "devil to pay, and no pitch hot"
    },
    {
      "sense": "the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready",
      "word": "devil to pay"
    },
    {
      "word": "between a rock and a hard place"
    },
    {
      "word": "Hobson's choice"
    },
    {
      "word": "lesser of two evils"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Between undesirable alternatives."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "undesirable",
          "undesirable"
        ],
        [
          "alternative",
          "alternative"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Between undesirable alternatives."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "in a dilemma"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cc/En-au-caught_between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea.ogg/En-au-caught_between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/En-au-caught_between_the_devil_and_the_deep_blue_sea.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea"
    },
    {
      "word": "the devil and the deep blue sea"
    }
  ],
  "word": "between the devil and the deep blue sea"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). 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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