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entre le marteau et l'enclume. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
entre le marteau et l'enclume, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
entre le marteau et l'enclume in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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entre le marteau et l'enclume, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ̃.tʁə l(ə) maʁ.to e l‿ɑ̃.klym/
Adverb
entre le marteau et l’enclume
- (literally) between the hammer and the anvil
- (by extension, idiomatic) between a rock and a hard place; between the devil and the deep blue sea
J’étais entre le marteau et l’enclume, car si je ne contractais pas un autre prêt - et ne m’endettais pas davantage - je ne pourrais pas rembourser les dettes que j’avais déjà.- I was between a rock and a hard place, for if I didn't take out another loan—and go deeper into debt—I could not pay off the debts I already owed.
Usage notes
In the idiomatic sense loosely identical to “be in a bad situation”; not as strong as between a rock and a hard place and it doesn't catch the idea of being forced to take into account antagonist interests (the “hammer” and the “anvil”). When a decision is hard to make between one or the opposite one, neither of them being ideal.
Synonyms
See also