Between a Rock and a Hard Place


πŸ—“οΈ Idiom: Between a Rock and a Hard Place (ph)


πŸ’¬ Meaning

  • To be in a difficult situation with no easy or good choices.
  • It means facing two bad options and having to choose between them.

🧠 Example Sentences

  • We’re between a rock and a hard place: either we cut staff or miss our deadlines.
  • The company was between a rock and a hard place during the budget crisis.
  • She felt stuck between a rock and a hard place when choosing between two important clients.

πŸ›οΈ Origin

This idiom comes from the idea of being trapped between two hard surfaces with no easy escape. In business, it describes situations where every option has serious downsides.


πŸ“ Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank:

Choosing between raising prices or cutting staff put the team __________.

Answer

between a rock and a hard place

2. Choose the correct meaning of β€œbetween a rock and a hard place”:

A) Being given many good options
B) Facing two difficult choices
C) Making a quick and easy decision
D) Solving a problem with no effort

Answer

B) Facing two difficult choices

3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:

β€œThe company had to choose between two bad options.” β†’ Change the sentence using: between a rock and a hard place

Answer

The company was between a rock and a hard place.


ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

πŸ“š Learning Resources
πŸ‘‰ Problem Solving and Decision Making Idioms
πŸ‘‰ Business English Idioms List

πŸ‘₯ Support Spaces
πŸ‘‰ Student Space
πŸ‘‰ Tutor Toolkit

⭐️ Extras
πŸ“« Get a Daily Idiom
πŸš€ Build a Business with AI

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *