cleft sticknoun
uk/ˌkleft ˈstɪk/us/ˌkleft ˈstɪk/UKbe in a cleft stick
to be in a situation where it is very difficult to decide what to do, usually because both of your two choices of action would cause problems:
UN troops are in a cleft stick: something has to be done for the civilian population, yet to retaliate would surely be the spark to ignite all-out war.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Difficult situations and unpleasant experiences
- a (heavy) cross to bear idiom
- a cloud on the horizon idiom
- a fate worse than death idiom
- a hard/tough row to hoe idiom
- a narrow squeak idiom
- barrel
- bind
- crunch
- curse
- fate
- feeding frenzy
- going
- have a bumpy ride idiom
- have sb over a barrel idiom
- schtuck
- shtook
- stalemate
- standoff
- sticky wicket
- vortex
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