See in a cleft stick in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for in a cleft stick meaning in English (2.5kB)
{
"etymology_text": "From the metaphor of being caught in a tight position, unable to move.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "prepositional phrase",
"head": ""
},
"expansion": "in a cleft stick",
"name": "head"
},
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "in a cleft stick",
"name": "en-PP"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "prep_phrase",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Australian English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "British English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "76 24",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1964 September 3, H. Fullerton, Letters: Survival of the wild, New Scientist, Volume 23, No. 407, page 579",
"text": "Such a solution only puts the humanist in a cleft stick by trading the problem of malnutrition for that of over-population."
},
{
"ref": "1991, Attar Chand, Rajiv Gandhi: His Mind and Ideology, page 214",
"text": "But considerations in drafting Sonia Gandhi apart, the Congress leadership is clearly caught in a cleft stick, with or without the services of Rajiv Gandhi′s widow.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"In a difficult situation, unable to choose between unfavourable options; in a dilemma."
],
"id": "en-in_a_cleft_stick-en-prep_phrase-fA1kLi7A",
"links": [
[
"dilemma",
"dilemma"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(Australia, British, dated) In a difficult situation, unable to choose between unfavourable options; in a dilemma."
],
"tags": [
"Australia",
"British",
"dated"
]
},
{
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1922, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, Forgotten Books, Easy Reading Series, page 31",
"text": "Hence when a Huichol woman is about to weave or embroider, her husband catches a large serpent and holds it in a cleft stick, while the woman strokes the reptile with one hand down the whole length of its back; …"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, cleft, stick."
],
"id": "en-in_a_cleft_stick-en-prep_phrase-L0gX5tHr",
"links": [
[
"in",
"in#English"
],
[
"cleft",
"cleft#English"
],
[
"stick",
"stick#English"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "EN-AU ck1 in a cleft stick.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/31/EN-AU_ck1_in_a_cleft_stick.ogg/EN-AU_ck1_in_a_cleft_stick.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/EN-AU_ck1_in_a_cleft_stick.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "in a cleft stick"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English prepositional phrases",
"English terms with audio links"
],
"etymology_text": "From the metaphor of being caught in a tight position, unable to move.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "prepositional phrase",
"head": ""
},
"expansion": "in a cleft stick",
"name": "head"
},
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "in a cleft stick",
"name": "en-PP"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "prep_phrase",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"Australian English",
"British English",
"English dated terms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1964 September 3, H. Fullerton, Letters: Survival of the wild, New Scientist, Volume 23, No. 407, page 579",
"text": "Such a solution only puts the humanist in a cleft stick by trading the problem of malnutrition for that of over-population."
},
{
"ref": "1991, Attar Chand, Rajiv Gandhi: His Mind and Ideology, page 214",
"text": "But considerations in drafting Sonia Gandhi apart, the Congress leadership is clearly caught in a cleft stick, with or without the services of Rajiv Gandhi′s widow.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"In a difficult situation, unable to choose between unfavourable options; in a dilemma."
],
"links": [
[
"dilemma",
"dilemma"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(Australia, British, dated) In a difficult situation, unable to choose between unfavourable options; in a dilemma."
],
"tags": [
"Australia",
"British",
"dated"
]
},
{
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1922, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, Forgotten Books, Easy Reading Series, page 31",
"text": "Hence when a Huichol woman is about to weave or embroider, her husband catches a large serpent and holds it in a cleft stick, while the woman strokes the reptile with one hand down the whole length of its back; …"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, cleft, stick."
],
"links": [
[
"in",
"in#English"
],
[
"cleft",
"cleft#English"
],
[
"stick",
"stick#English"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "EN-AU ck1 in a cleft stick.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/31/EN-AU_ck1_in_a_cleft_stick.ogg/EN-AU_ck1_in_a_cleft_stick.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/EN-AU_ck1_in_a_cleft_stick.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "in a cleft stick"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). 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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