A Rock and a Hard Place

I am sure most of us are famillar with the expression a rock and a hard place, but where did it first come from? Most common beleif is that it came from Greek Mythology.

There were two great sea monsters one called Scylla and the other called Charybdis and they lived on opposite sides of a narrow channel such that if one would try to and aviod Charybdis they would pass too close to Scylla and vica verse. In fact from this came the expression between Scylla and Charybdis.

But it is beleived that overtime Scylla transformed into a dangerous outcropping of rock which is said to still be there today and it is from Scylla and Charybdis that the term a rock and a hard place orginated to describe a difficult posistion.

10:45 AM - 9/27/2007 - post comment

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