What Does Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Mean? This excerpt is from an article about the ex-patriots of Tangier, Morocco. STANDS4 LLC, 2020. That the dilemma had still to be resolved in the aftermath of the revolution is suggested by Percy Bysshe Shelley's returning to the idiom in his 1820 essay A Defence of Poetry: "The rich have become richer, and the poor have become poorer; and the vessel of the state is driven between the Scylla and Charybdis of anarchy and despotism. . be between the devil and the deep blue sea definition: 1. to have two choices that are both equally unpleasant or not convenient 2. to have two choices…. Definition: Stuck between two awful choices; having two poor alternatives. People use this phrase to outline the difficulty they face making a decision because both options are horrible. The useful cliché that is pounding like a bad headache through the frontal lobe of millions of voters is the one about choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. [1] Several other idioms, such as "on the horns of a dilemma", "between the devil and the deep blue sea", and "between a rock and a hard place" express similar meanings. [14] Nevertheless, the idiom has since taken on new life in pop lyrics. A wise man would rather be envied than miserable." A shield emblazoned "Neutrality" hangs on the ship's thwarts, referring to how Palmerston tried to maintain a strict impartiality towards both combatants in the American Civil War. Get instant explanation for any lyrics that hits you anywhere on the web! This expression doesn’t have to do with the devil of the Bible but to a seam around a ship’s hull near the water. The phrase was originally 'Between the Devil and the deep sea' (and sometimes 'the Dead Sea' or 'the Red Sea').   After relating the Homeric account and reviewing other connected uses, he went on to explain that the proverb could be applied in three different ways. To explain the nautical theory we'll need to define some sailing terminology. According to his programme note, though its four movements "do not refer specifically to the protagonists or to events connected with the famous legend", their dynamic is linked subjectively to images connected with it "conjoured up in the composer's mind during the writing". Of course, if he didn’t caulk the seam, the ship could fill with water and sink. In James Gillray's cartoon, Britannia between Scylla and Charybdis (3 June 1793),[9] 'William Pitt helms the ship Constitution, containing an alarmed Britannia, between the rock of democracy (with the liberty cap on its summit) and the whirlpool of arbitrary power (in the shape of an inverted crown), to the distant haven of liberty'. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. CANOE doesn't quite convince with this one. We've no evidence to show the word in that context until over two hundred years after the first sighting of the phrase. Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons! In the following example, a new mother is discussing childcare with her friend. Christine: I’d like to do that, too, but we need the money that I’d get from going back to work. Set against that there's the explanation that this is from the usual meaning of Devil, that is, the supreme spirit of evil. used to describe a difficult situation where there are two equally undesirable options; in a difficult and inescapable position; Example sentences. In this dialogue, two friends are discussing the summer weather. Scylla was rationalized as a rock shoal (described as a six-headed sea monster) on the Calabrian side of the strait and Charybdis was a whirlpool off the coast of Sicily. FAVORITE Nyima: Well, I’m glad the cold of winter is over, but I can’t handle all this sun. People who like that explanation can point back to Greek mythology for an earlier version of the idea of being caught between evil and the sea. Nyima: No, not at all. Alternatively it may signify that the risks are equally great, whatever one does. By the time of Nicholas Monsarrat's 1951 war novel, The Cruel Sea, however, the upper-class junior officer, Morell, is teased by his middle-class peer, Lockhart, for using such a phrase. (0 fans), Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist. –, It is a high meeting place of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, Europe and Africa, sanctity and sin, where men and women have long set out to find themselves between the devil and the deep blue sea. Idiom: (caught) between the devil and the deep blue sea. If I wear sunscreen, my skin breaks out in hives. A similar expression is between a rock and a hard place. This expression has existed since at least the 1600s. 15 Oct. 2020. 2003, 1997. Think you know music? [15][16] American heavy metal band Trivium also referenced the idiom in "Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis", a track from their 2008 album Shogun, in which the lyrics are about having to choose "between death and doom". Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Meaning. There one is advised, much in the spirit of the commentary of Erasmus, that the risk of being envied for wealth or reputation is preferable to being swallowed by the Charybdis of poverty: "Choose the lesser of these evils. Help! Homer's Odyssey refers to Odysseus being caught between Scylla (a six-headed monster) and Charybdis (a whirlpool). This excerpt is about voters who felt like the two main candidates for presidency were both bad choices. The seafaring theory is plausible, but does it hold water? Kerry: No, absolutely not! Being between Scylla and Charybdis is an idiom deriving from Greek mythology, which has been associated with the proverbial advice "to choose the lesser of two evils".   [12] American satirical magazine Puck also used the myth in a caricature by F. Graetz, dated November 26, 1884, in which the unmarried President-elect Grover Cleveland rows desperately between snarling monsters captioned "Mother-in-law" and "Office Seekers".[13]. [17], In 2014 Graham Waterhouse composed a piano quartet, Skylla and Charybdis, premiered at the Gasteig in Munich. Definition of between the devil and the deep blue sea in the Idioms Dictionary. The first chapter of the final volume is entitled "The Charybdis of the Faubourg Saint Antoine and the Scylla of the Faubourg du Temple". The sea turned blue much later and the phrase became well-known via the title of a popular song Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, written by Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen, and recorded by Cab Calloway in 1931. When a sailor attempted to caulk this seam in heavy seas, he was in serious danger of failing overboard and drowning. A third use is in circumstances where a person has gone too far in avoiding one extreme and has tumbled into its opposite. Either way it is easy to see how that might be described as 'between the devil and the deep sea'. used to describe a difficult situation where there are two equally undesirable options; in a difficult and inescapable position; Example sentences. Idiom: between the devil and the deep blue sea Meaning. Test your MusicIQ here! [18], Idiom deriving from Greek mythology, "to choose the lesser of two evils", "Scylla and Charybdis" redirects here. Lyrics.com. It says the employees are mean to the children, and the building is infested with cockroaches! The evidence for that is lacking and it is more likely that the 'devil' is a reference to Satan. Glamor or Glamour – What’s the Difference? Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Lyrics: Another day, shipwrecked / Can you hear my prayer? So are you going to stay at home longer? We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. In this context Erasmus quoted another line that had become proverbial, incidit in Scyllam cupiēns vītāre Charybdem (into Scylla he fell, wishing to avoid Charybdis). The onus falls on the nautical believers to provide the evidence - and I'm not holding my breath on that. [6] Erasmus too had associated the proverb about choosing the lesser of two evils, as well as Walter of Châtillon’s line, with the Classical adage. In other words, the sailor was faced with two awful choices: risk his life to repair the ship or risk the entire ship by not repairing the ship. Between the devil and the deep blue sea definition: If you say that you are between the devil and the deep blue sea , you mean that you are... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and … What's the source of the original phrase? A similar expression is between a rock and a hard place.. In circumstances where there is no escape without some cost, the correct course is to "choose the lesser of two evils". What does between the devil and the deep blue sea expression mean? –. [2] The mythical situation also developed a proverbial use in which seeking to choose between equally dangerous extremes is seen as leading inevitably to disaster. Christine: I’d like to, but I’m not sure I can. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one major source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz". Idiom: between the devil and the deep blue sea Meaning. If it's that Devil we are talking about then the origin is straightforward - the Devil is bad and falling in the deep sea is bad, so when being caught between the two would be cause for concern. Idiom: (caught) between the devil and the deep blue sea. Home » Phrase and Idiom Dictionary » What Does Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Mean?

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