And we are happy that you have decided to learn English . It is a good choice . There is really no downside in learning a new language , especially a useful one . But not all choices are as harmless . Some decisions have no good choice . Today we will talk about those . English has many words and expressions that describe those times when you must make a choice but all of your options are terrible ! For starters , you can say you are between a rock and a hard place . This is when you must decide between two things that are equally unpleasant . Many cultures have their own version of this story . But one of the most famous is the Greek story of Scylla and Charybdis . The online resource Encyclopedia Britannica explains that in Greek mythology , Scylla and Charybdis were two immortal monsters . They terrorized ships that tried to travel the Strait of Messina , a narrow waterway between Sicily and the Italian mainland . Scylla is the personification -- the human representation of a non-human thing -- of sharp rocks and other objects along the coast . Scylla destroyed ships that came too close . Charybdis is the personification of a whirlpool , a dangerous water formation in seas and oceans . Charybdis also destroyed ships that came too close but in a very different way . And they were located so close to each other that they gave sailors an almost impossible choice . Avoiding Charybdis meant passing too close to Scylla and vice versa . And that is what “being between a rock and hard place ” means . You are in an impossibly difficult situation with no good choices . So really , you must choose between the lesser of two evils . Now , let's hear this used in a conversation between two friends . A woman is planning a birthday party for her son . And a friend who offers to help finds himself in a dilemma , a real pickle – you know a difficult situation ! He has a hard decision to make . Can I help with the birthday party ? Thank you so much ! It's your son's birthday . I'm happy to help . Well , I need to take my dog to the vet later today . But I also promised my son that I would take him and his friends out for ice cream after the party . So , can you either take the dog or the kids ? And they will probably all be ready for a nap . So they'll be tired and quiet ? They will be irritable and over-excited because they've had too much sugar . That sounds terrible . But then again , I'm not really a dog person . Is she good in the car ? She hates it ! But not as much as she hates the doctor . She will probably bark the whole time . So , I can either take an unhappy , barking dog to the vet . Or I can take a car full of overly excited six-year-olds out for messy ice cream . But I'll pay for the ice cream and I'll pay to have your car cleaned afterward – no matter which one you choose . I don't know ! I have a dilemma . I'm still weighing my options . I didn't mean to put you between a rock and hard place . But you did offer . Now , you may have also heard the expression : Damned if you do , damned if you don't ! This may sound the same as “being between a rock and a hard place ” but we use it a little differently . Being between a rock and a hard place involves your choosing between two terrible choices . Now whenever you have to choose between these expressions , you will know which one to use . And luckily choosing between them will not put you between a rock and a hard place . Is there a time when you found yourself between a rock and a hard place ?