This idiom describes a dilemma where someone faces two difficult or undesirable choices, with no easy solution. It suggests being trapped between equally bad options, often used to express frustration or sympathy for tough decisions in personal, professional, or moral contexts.

The phrase likely originated in early 20th-century America, possibly from mining or labor disputes where workers faced dangerous conditions (‘rock’) or unemployment (‘hard place’). It’s linked to the older ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’ from Greek mythology. The earliest known use is in a 1921 *American Federationist* article about Arizona miners: ‘Between a rock and a hard place.’ Popularized during the Great Depression, it reflected economic dilemmas and was cemented in American English by the mid-20th century.