# entre a espada e a parede, between a rock and a hard place



## sakvaka

_T__o feel _(or_ be_)_ sandwiched_ means the same as _to be under pressure_, usually when you have to stand between two things. What kind of idioms do you use in your languages?

Finnish: _olla puun ja kuoren välissä_ (to be between the tree and the bark)


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## ErOtto

Spanish:

estar entre la espada y la pared. (to be between the sword and the wall).

Re
Er


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
Μεταξύ σφύρας και άκμονος
Metaks*i* sf*i*ras ke *a*kmonos
(between the hammer and the anvil)


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## enoo

French: _être entre le marteau et l'enclume_ (same as in Greek, to be between the hammer and the anvil)


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## Mahaodeh

In Arabic: بين المطرقة والسندان = baina al-miTraqa wal-sindaan = between the hammar and the anvil.


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## RaLo18

In Hebrew:
בין הפטיש לסדן (_ben hapatish lasadan_) - between the hammer and the anvil.

In English:
Between a rock and a hard place.


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## rusita preciosa

Russian: 
*между молотом и наковальней* [mejdu molotom i nakovalney] - between the hammer and the anvil

(rarely used) *между Сциллой и Харибдой* [mejdu Scilloy i Haribdoy] - between Scylla and Charybdis (don't they say that in Greece??)


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## marco.cur

Italian:
Stare tra l'incudine e il martello (to be between the anvil and the hammer)


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## apmoy70

rusita preciosa said:


> (rarely used) *между Сциллой и Харибдой* [mejdu Scilloy i Haribdoy] - between Scylla and Charybdis (don't they say that in Greece??)


Yes we do use it:
Μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης
meta'ksi 'skilas ke 'xarivðis
(between Scylla and Charybdis)


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## jazyk

In Portuguese I've heard estar entre a cruz e a caldeirinha (to be between the cross and the little cauldron, if I translated it right), but I don't know what this caldeirinha refers to.


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## sakvaka

You've pointed me out a lot of other ways to say that and I have noticed that Finnish uses almost all of them. We have:

_vasaran ja alasimen välissä_ (hammer - anvil)
_kiven ja kovan välissä_ (rock - hard place)
_Skyllan ja Kharybdiin välissä_

(plus the abovementioned _puun ja kuoren välissä_)


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## Pont neuf

In Icelandic, the phrase is "að vera undir pressu" to be under pressure or "að vera þvingaður". There is another expression, "að vera með þunga byrði á herðunum" which means to carry a heavy burden on your shoulders. There are more expressions but I can't think of any at the moment, will let you know.

Thai:   หนักใจ to have a heavy heart.


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## bibax

Czech: *býti (ocitnouti se) mezi dvěma mlýnskými kameny*

to be (to find oneself) between two running stones (stones of a mill)


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## Hutschi

German: 
Zwischen Hammer und Amboss sein. 
To be between hammer and anvil
But I feel this has a liitle other meaning. It is not just pressure, the picture is here that you are helpless against the blows.

I think:

"Sich ausgepresst fühlen wie eine Zitrone" 
"to feel sqeezed like a lemon"
comes nearer.
It lacks the two things, however.

There is an Anglicism: "Sandwich-Position" in the German language
It means you are in the situation (in a job position) like being sandwiched. (Pressure from above and from below.)

As far as I understand it depends on context.


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## 涼宮

[Moderator's Note: Merged with a previous thread]
Merry Christmas 

I wonder how this colorful expression is translated in your language. It is used to describe a difficult situation, a death or life situation.

*
To be (caught) between the devil and the deep blue sea*

In *Spanish* we say _estar entre la espada y la pared_. Lit: to be between the sword and the wall.

in *Japanese* it's said どちらを選んでもろくな結果を得られなく、にっちもさっちもいかない _dochira wo erandemo roku na kekka wo erarenaku, nicchi mo sacchi mo ikanai._
Lit:  one can't get a satisfactory result no matter what one chooses, there is no way out.

What do you say in your language?


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## jazyk

In Portuguese I have heard _estar entre a cruz e a espada_ (to be between the cross and the sword) and _estar entre a cruz e a caldeirinha_ (to be between the cross and the holy water pot).


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## terredepomme

Japanese/Korean/Chinese/Vietnamese
進退兩難(shintai ryounan/jintoe yangnan/jintui liangnan/tiến thoái lưỡng nan)
Literally: Advance or retreat, double obstacles.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

«Μπρος γκρεμός* και πίσω ρέμα**»
/bros gre'mos ce 'piso 'rema/
lit. "ahead [of me/us] a cliff, and behind [me/us] a flood"

*Βyzantine and Modern Greek masculine noun «γκρεμός» (gre'mos) deriving from the Classical masculine noun «κρημνός» (krē'mnŏs)--> _overhanging bank, edge of cliff_, with unknown etymology.
**Byzantine and Modern Greek neuter noun «ρέμα» ('rema) deriving from the Classical neuter noun «ῥεῦμα» ('rheumă)--> _current, stream of river, flood_. With «ρέμα» in Modern Greek we describe the stream of a river, while with the ancient noun «ρεύμα» (which in the modern language we pronounce it as 'revma) we name the electric current or the ocean current. PIE base *srew-, _flow_


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## Tamar

In Hebrew: בין הפטיש לסדן  bein ha-patish la-sadan

Between the hammer and the anvil.


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## inter1908

*Polish*: Być między młotem a kowadłem (to be between a hammer and an anvil). The same as in Hebrew.

*Dutch*: Zich tussen twee vuren bevinden (to be between two fires).


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## jazyk

> In Hebrew: בין הפטיש לסדן  bein ha-patish la-sadan
> 
> Between the hammer and the anvil.


I've heard this in Portuguese (estar entre o martelo e a bigorna) and in Italian (essere fra/tra l'incudine e il martello) as well.


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## apmoy70

Tamar said:


> In Hebrew: בין הפטיש לסדן  bein ha-patish la-sadan
> 
> Between the hammer and the anvil.





inter1908 said:


> *Polish*: Być między młotem a kowadłem (to be between a hammer and an anvil). The same as in Hebrew.
> 
> *Dutch*: Zich tussen twee vuren bevinden (to be between two fires).





jazyk said:


> I've heard this in Portuguese (estar entre o martelo e a bigorna) and in Italian (essere fra/tra l'incudine e il martello) as well.



Hmm, I don't think the two meanings are identical.
The OP would like to know how do we, in our respected languages, describe a situation that leads us to a dead-end; one cannot return to a previous state of affairs, neither move on.[...]


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## ThomasK

Dutch addendum:_ tussen hamer en aambeeld_, i.e., between hammer and anvil, as in Polish, is quite alright. _Tussen twee vuren_ seems to mean about the same indeed.


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## Anja.Ann

Hi 

In Italian we say: "Essere tra l'incudine e il martello" (the literal translation would be: "to be between the anvil and the hammer")


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## Outsider

涼宮 said:


> In *Spanish* we say _estar entre la espada y la pared_. Lit: to be between the sword and the wall.


The same expression is common in Portuguese, too. I would say it describes a situation where one must choose between two unpleasant alternatives.


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## OneStroke

Chinese: 前無去路，後有追兵　(qian wu qulu, hou you zhuibing) - There's no road ahead, and there are soldiers chasing you behind


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## Fericire

[Moderator's Note: Merged with a previous thread]
Hello everyone!

Does your language have this saying ("estar entre a espada e a parede", lit.: "to be between the sword and the wall") or a similar one?
It is used when you are in a situation you can't get away from. Well, it is a very picturesque saying, there is not much to explain about.


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## Yondlivend

I'm pretty sure Spanish has the same one: "estar entre la espada y la pared."

In English we have "to be between a rock and a hard place," but there are also other phrases here (some of which I've never heard of until now): http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=78340


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## arielipi

Hebrew: בין הפטיש לסדן
be(y)n hapatish lasedan
between the hammer and the anvil. Not much to explain here.
another one is: מן הפח אל הפחת
min hapakh el hapakhat
from the trap[bad situation] to the deep pit[worse situation].


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## Agró

*Catalan*:

_Entre l'espasa i la paret_ or _Entre espasa i paret_.


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## Maroseika

Russian: 

Между молотом и наковальней (between the hammer and the anvil). Looks like loaned from German (zwischen Hammer und Amboß sein).

Попасть меж двух огней (to get between two fires). The fire that is meant here is most likely a gun fire.


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian*: két tűz között (between two fires)


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## ThomasK

Dutch: _tussen hamer en aambeeld_, between hammer and anvil. _Tussen twee vuren _is something the like (between two fires).


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## Ko-lo-bok-

Maroseika said:


> Russian:
> 
> Между молотом и наковальней (between the hammer and the anvil). Looks like loaned from German (zwischen Hammer und Amboß sein).


Yes. But for me, it's about a pain that one has experienced rather than about a situation where it's hard or impossible to escape trouble.


> Попасть меж двух огней (to get between two fires). The fire that is meant here is most likely a gun fire.


Also: "между Сциллой и Харибдой"  ("between Scylla and Charybdis"; the first one that passed my mind)


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## aruniyan

ThomasK said:


> Dutch: _tussen hamer en aambeeld_, between hammer and anvil. _Tussen twee vuren _is something the like (between two fires).



Tamil : *head/Hand inside a Ural* (_rice grinder base) 

(where two people will pestle/stamp using large pestler, repeatedly in a faster pace._)


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## Maroseika

Ko-lo-bok- said:


> Yes. But for me, it's about a pain that one has experienced rather than about a situation where it's hard or impossible to escape trouble.


Well, for me it's exactly "situation you can't get away from".



> Also: "между Сциллой и Харибдой"  ("between Scylla and Charybdis"; the first one that passed my mind)


And this one seems to be quite another story: to pass between two dangers rather than staying between them without a way out.


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## Selyd

Ukrainian:
Бути між молотом і ковадлом
Опинитися між молотом і ковадлом
Під молотом на ковадлі
Залізти між молот і ковадло
Межи (між) двома вогнями
І звідси (і так) пече і звідти (і так) гаряче


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## Montesacro

rusita preciosa said:


> Russian:
> *между молотом и наковальней* [mejdu molotom i nakovalney] - between the hammer and the anvil
> 
> (rarely used) *между Сциллой и Харибдой* [mejdu Scilloy i Haribdoy] - between Scylla and Charybdis (don't they say that in Greece??)





apmoy70 said:


> Yes we do use it:
> Μεταξύ Σκύλλας και Χάρυβδης
> meta'ksi 'skilas ke 'xarivðis
> (between Scylla and Charybdis)


Maybe it's just me, but I don't think the two idioms are equivalent.

If you are between the hammer and the anvil (tra l'incudine e il martello in Italian) there is no way out.

If you are between Scylla and Charybdis (tra Scilla e Cariddi in Italian) it means there actually is a narrow passage to go through between two great dangers.

After all ancient sailors were able to pass the strait of Messina, avoiding those dreadful whirlpools and monsters!

In medio stat virtus, while at both ends lies failure...


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## mataripis

Tagalog: _Nasa pagitan ng dalawang nag uumpugang bato.(in between the two stones that bump together)_


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## fdb

Hutschi said:


> There is an Anglicism: "Sandwich-Position" in the German language
> It means you are in the situation (in a job position) like being sandwiched. (Pressure from above and from below.)



I would call this a pseudo-Anglicism. It is used in German, sounds vaguely English, but is never used in English in this meaning.

In "urban" English "sandwich position" has a different (sexual) meaning.


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## Hamlet2508

In German you would have
"sich in einer Zwickmühle befinden" .


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## Hutschi

Indeed, "sich in einer Zwickmühle befinden" is very common for a complicate decision situation.


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## ilocas2

Serbian:

*između čekića i nakovnja* - between hammer and anvil
*između Scile i Haribde* - between Scylla and Charybdis


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## 810senior

Japanese: 板挟みになる(stuck between two boards)


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## Kotlas

One more Russian expression with this meaning:

между двух огней - _lit_. between two fires
['mezhdu dvukh ag'ney]


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## Gavril

sakvaka said:


> _To feel _(or_ be_)_ sandwiched_ means the same as _to be under pressure_, usually when you have to stand between two things.



I can't speak for all English speakers, but I'm personally unfamiliar with this meaning of _sandwiched_. To me, _sandwiched_ doesn't imply pressure or discomfort -- it just means that something is positioned between two other things that are directly touching it:

_I noticed a five-dollar bill sandwiched between two sofa cushions.

The team won one league championship, in 1980, sandwiched between two division titles._ [I.e., the team won division titles in 1979 and 1981.]

To express the idea of uncomfortable pressure between two (or more) things, I would say *squeezed* or similar rather than _sandwiched_.


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