between the devil and the deep blue sea

• betwixt the devil and the deep blue sea, the devil and the deep blue sea

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between the devil and the deep blue sea

1. (idiomatic) Between undesirable alternatives.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:in a dilemma

• devil seam (“the seam between garboard strake and the keel”) (a seam on wooden boats)
  • the devil to pay and no pitch hot or ready
    • devil to pay, and no pitch hot
    • devil to pay

• Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “between the devil and the deep blue sea”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Michael Quinion (2004) “Between the devil and the deep blue sea”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.