单词 | between the devil and the dead sea |
释义 | > as lemmasbetween the devil and the Dead (or deep) Sea b. In many phrases, which see under the substantives concerned: e.g. †between the beetle and the block; between the cup and the lip; between the devil and the Dead (or deep) Sea. between wind and water: along the line where anything is submerged in water or in damp soil, esp. on the load-line of a ship, which, as the vessel tosses, is alternately above and below the water's surface. ΚΠ 1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 129 Many things fall betweene the cup and the lip. 1613 J. Hayward Liues III. Normans 274 Earle William being thus set as it were betweene the beetle and the block—was nothing deiected. 1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xiii. 60 Wee are shot thorow and thorow, and betweene wind and water. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 22 Nothing shall come betweene cup and lip to defeat thee. 1692 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 637 Having received a shot between wind and water, [she was] forced to lye by to stop her leake. 1887 N.E.D. at Between Mod. An oaken gate-post always decays between wind and water. between the devil and the Dead Sea j. between the devil and the deep (blue) sea (formerly also † between the devil and the Dead Sea): in a difficult situation where there are two equally unpleasant choices or possibilities; in a dilemma. Cf. between a rock and a hard place at rock n.1 Phrases 8. [In quot. 1621 given as an English equivalent of a Latin proverb: a fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi, lit. ‘a precipice in front, wolves behind’ (1521 in Erasmus, who gives a Greek equivalent Εμπροσθεν κρημνὸς, ὄπισθεν λύκοι).] ΚΠ 1621 B. Robertson tr. Erasmus Adagia in Latine & Eng. 21 Betwixt the Deuill and the dead sea. 1637 R. Monro Exped. Scots Regim. ii. 55 I with my partie, did lie on our Poste, as betwixt the Devill and the deepe Sea. 1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 394 Between the devil and the dead sea. 1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 58 Between the Dee'l, and the deep Sea. That is, between two Difficulties equally dangerous. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 87 Being atween the deil and the deep sea. 1894 H. H. Gibbs Colloquy on Currency (ed. 3) 199 You must remember that he was between the devil and the deep sea. 1920 Concrete Aug. 35/1 But between the devil and the deep sea is a narrow path to a safer position in a business way. 1992 Holiday Which? Mar. 72/3 The holidaymaker is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. If you book your holiday early you risk having the flight changed; if you wait, it may be full. 2006 Diva Feb. 60/1 Bisexuals are often caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, experiencing rejection from both straight and gay societies. < as lemmas |
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