between Scylla and Charybdis
in a situation where you have to choose between two possible actions, but both are dangerous or unpleasant The phrase comes from the ancient Greek stories of Scylla, a MONSTER, and Charybdis, a whirlpool (=water that spins around and pulls things down into it) that killed sailors in the sea between Italy and Sicily People sometimes also use the phrase 'between a rock and a hard place' to mean the same thing

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲