between the devil and the deep blue sea

be·tween the dev·il and the deep blue sea

B b

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [bih-tween stressed th ee dev-uh l and stressed th ee deep bloo see]
- /bɪˈtwin stressed ði ˈdɛv əl ænd stressed ði dip blu si/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [bih-tween stressed th ee dev-uh l and stressed th ee deep bloo see]
- /bɪˈtwin stressed ði ˈdɛv əl ænd stressed ði dip blu si/

Definitions of between the devil and the deep blue sea words

phrase between the devil and the deep blue sea If you say that you are between the devil and the deep blue sea, you mean that you are in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action. 3
noun between the devil and the deep blue sea between equally undesirable alternatives 3
noun between the devil and the deep blue sea between equally unpleasant alternatives 3

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 94% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

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