a Sophie's choice
Meaning: An agonizing choice between two terrible options.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Choosing between her job and caring for her father felt like a Sophie's choice.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From William Styron's novel Sophie's Choice (1979) and its 1982 film, in which a mother at Auschwitz is forced to choose which of her two children will live.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Un choix cornélien — literally: A Cornelian choice
More idioms — Daily Life
- at someone's beck and call — Always ready to obey someone's orders.
- set one's cap at — To try to attract someone as a romantic partner (dated).
- the big leagues — The highest, most competitive level of an activity.
- rich as Croesus — Extremely wealthy.
- everyone's a critic — A wry reply to unwanted criticism: it is easy to find fault.
- the pitcher goes to the well once too often — Repeated risk-taking eventually ends in disaster.
More English idioms
- kicking and screaming — Very reluctantly, protesting all the way.
- hands down — Easily; without question.
- like a bolt from the blue — Completely unexpected, usually of bad news.
- a road to Damascus moment — A sudden, life-changing realization or conversion.
- the sword of Damocles — A constant threat of disaster hanging over someone.
- the deck is stacked — The situation is unfairly arranged so that someone will lose.