between the hammer and the anvil
English · Thesaurus
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between the hammer and the anvil
Where it comes from
Referring to the metal on a blacksmith's anvil, which is beaten with a hammer.
phrase
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With the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options; in a predicament or quandary.
Yet for a time the nation was again placed between the democracy of the levellers and the despotism of the Stuarts, — between the hammer and the anvil.
Similar: between a rock and a hard place, between Scylla and Charybdis, between the devil and the deep blue sea, between the hammer and the anvil, between two fires, damned if one does and damned if one doesn't, doomed if you do, doomed if you don't, in a cleft stick, in bad bread, on the horns of a dilemma
Translations
Every language
prep_phrase with the choice between two unpleasant or distasteful options
| Français | entre le marteau et l'enclume, la peste ou le choléra |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | zwischen Hammer und Amboss |
| Italiano | tra l'incudine e il martello |
| Ελληνικά | μεταξύ σφύρας και άκμονος metaxý sfýras kai ákmonos |
| Română | prins între ciocan și nicovală |
| Русский | между молотом и наковальней meždu molotom i nakovalʹnej |
| العربية | بَيْنَ ٱلْمِطْرَقَةِ وَٱلسِّنْدَانِ bayna l-miṭraqati was-sindāni |
| עברית | בֵּין הַפַּטִּישׁ וְהַסַּדָּן bein hapatísh vehasadán |
Talk about this word "between the hammer and the anvil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/between%20the%20hammer%20and%20the%20anvil. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. between the hammer and the anvil. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/between%20the%20hammer%20and%20the%20anvil "between the hammer and the anvil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/between%20the%20hammer%20and%20the%20anvil.Cite this
@misc{between_the_hammer_and_the_anvil_2026,
title = {between the hammer and the anvil},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/between%20the%20hammer%20and%20the%20anvil},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
