in a cleft stick

Etymology
From the metaphor of being caught in a tight position, unable to move.

Prepositional phrase

 * 1)  In a difficult situation, unable to choose between unfavourable options; in a dilemma.
 * 2) * 1964 September 3, H. Fullerton, Letters: Survival of the wild, New Scientist, Volume 23, No. 407, page 579:
 * Such a solution only puts the humanist in a cleft stick by trading the problem of malnutrition for that of over-population.
 * 1) * 1922, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, Forgotten Books, Easy Reading Series, page 31:
 * 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; [...]
 * 1) * 1922, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, Forgotten Books, Easy Reading Series, page 31:
 * 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; [...]
 * 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; [...]