in a cleft stick

Definitions

1. In a difficult situation, unable to choose between unfavourable options; in a dilemma.
   Australia, British, dated
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, cleft, stick.

Examples

“Ha! I see⟳. You have⟳ got me in a cleft stick⟳.”

“Such a solution only puts the humanist in a cleft stick⟳ by trading the problem of malnutrition for that of over-population.”

“But considerations in drafting Sonia Gandhi apart, the Congress leadership is clearly caught in a cleft stick⟳, with or without the services of Rajiv Gandhi′s widow.”

“Hence when a Huichol woman is about to weave or embroider, her husband catches a large serpent and holds it in a cleft stick⟳, while the woman strokes the reptile with one hand down the whole length of its back; …”

CEFR level